✨ Figma Tutorial Repo ✨
This repository documents my learning journey with Figma, based on the video tutorials by Ansh Mehra. The course covers a wide range of topics from the basics to advanced techniques.
- Lecture - 1 A Beginners Guide to Figma | Complete Basics Tutorial
- Lecture - 2 Basics of Frames and Autolayout
- Lecture - 3 Styles and Libraries Explained
- Lecture - 4 Basics of Components & Variants From Scratch
- Lecture - 5 Learn Figma Variables like a Pro In 2024
- Lecture - 6 UX Design Systems 101: a MUST Watch For Product Designers
- Lecture - 7 Figma Developer Handoff - Full Course Ep 7
- Lecture - 8 Figma Prototyping - Full Figma Course for Beginners Ep 8
This video introduces the fundamental concepts of Figma, ideal for those who are starting out.
- Introduction to the Figma interface
- Basic tools and features
- Creating and managing projects
- Importance of Figma: Learning Figma is essential for UX design, but knowing Figma alone doesn't guarantee a job in UX design.
- Vector Graphics: Figma uses vector graphics instead of raster images.
- Figma Design vs. Figma Jam: Differences and use cases.
- Pricing Plans: Overview of Figma’s pricing plans and collaboration capabilities.
- Practical Applications: Using frames and shapes in Figma.
- Shapes and Components: Utilization of rectangles, squares, and custom shapes; importance of components, frames, and constraints for responsive designs.
- Alignment and Distribution: Organizing elements using alignment and distribution features.
- Constraints: Ensuring responsiveness of components.
- Shortcuts and Functions: Various shortcuts and functions in the design panel.
- Exporting Screens: Export settings, resolutions, file formats, and organizing exported files.
- SVGs for Icons: Exporting SVGs to avoid increasing app or website size.
- Batch Renaming: Batch renaming frames for organized exports.
- Shared Designs: Differences in view for users with edit access vs. viewing access.
- Community Resources: Availability of free design assets in the Figma Community.
In this video, Ansh Mehra covers the basics of frames and autolayout, crucial for creating responsive designs.
- Understanding frames
- Using autolayout for responsive design
- Practical examples and exercises
- Groups vs. Frames: Frames are more powerful due to constraints.
- Horizontal and Vertical Constraints: Explanation and practical examples.
- Responsive vs. Adaptive Design: Differences and practical applications.
- Auto Layout: Creating responsive designs that adjust based on content and constraints.
- Designing UI Components: Buttons, labels, and nested components.
- Adaptive Layouts: Adapting layouts for different devices like iPhones and iPads.
- Responsify Plugin: Testing designs on multiple devices.
- Practice and Exploration: Importance of practicing, exploring UI inspiration, and documenting learnings.
- Upcoming Topics: Styles and libraries, feedback, and suggestions for improving the course.
This tutorial dives into styles and libraries in Figma, explaining how to manage and utilize them effectively.
- Creating and applying styles
- Building and using component libraries
- Collaboration tips
- Design Tokens: Organizing colors into categories (base, mid, contrast) using tokens for consistency.
- Color Tokens: Importance of clear and concise token names, using examples from Uber's design system (BASE).
- Variables in Figma: Creating a hierarchy of token values and aliases.
- Saving Styles/Variables: Naming and organizing styles effectively, using conventions like slashes and prefixes.
- Consistency and Organization: Maintaining consistency and organization within Figma files.
- Useful Plugins: Recommendations like Styler for managing styles.
- Publishing Libraries: Creating and publishing libraries for consistency across projects.
- Learning and Feedback: Encouragement to learn complex topics, watch previous videos, and engage in the learning process. Upcoming topics like components and variants were also teased.
Learn about the basics of components and variants in Figma.
- Creating components
- Using and managing variants
- Best practices for component design
- Reusability: Components in Figma allow you to reuse design elements across different screens or instances, which helps maintain consistency and saves time in your design process.
- Efficiency with Variants: Variants enable you to create multiple variations within a single component. This includes actions like swapping icons and toggling visibility, which add flexibility and streamline the design system.
- Component Manipulation: Learn how to manipulate and modify components and their instances in Figma. This includes understanding and applying Boolean properties, instance swapping, and text properties.
- Organizational Benefits: Utilizing instances within components simplifies editing and enhances the organization of your design system.
- Advanced Concepts: The tutorial introduces nested instances and properties, leading to a deeper understanding of how variants can be used to optimize design systems.
- Library Syncing: Detailed explanation of updating components across different files through libraries to ensure consistency and synchronization.
Ansh Mehra explains how to use variables in Figma like a professional.
- Introduction to Figma variables
- Practical applications and examples
- Tips and tricks for advanced usage
- Types of Variables: Figma supports multiple variable types including color, number, string, and Boolean.
- Color Variables: Used for defining colors that can be reused across different components and themes.
- Number Variables: Useful for setting numeric values like dimensions or quantities in your designs.
- String Variables: Manage text content and labels dynamically.
- Boolean Variables: Control toggles and visibility states within components.
- Multi-level Referencing: Variables provide flexibility by allowing for complex referencing and adjustments within a design system.
- Organizational Benefits: Grouping variables into collections helps maintain consistency and ease of access.
- Scoping Variables: Variables can be scoped to different use cases, such as defining color palettes for light and dark themes or assigning specific values to components.
- Collections and Groups: Organizing variables into collections and groups streamlines their management and application across your projects.
- Comparison with Styles: Unlike styles, which support complex layering and properties, variables are simpler and cater to more straightforward value management.
- Interactive Prototypes: Learn how to use variables to create dynamic prototypes. This includes setting up variables that change based on user interactions, like buttons triggering number count changes.
- Practical Examples: The video provides step-by-step examples of setting up and manipulating variables within a prototype scenario to demonstrate their functionality.
This video is essential for product designers looking to understand UX design systems.
- Introduction to UX design systems
- Building and maintaining a design system
- Examples from real-world projects
- Differentiation in Job Applications: A strong understanding of design systems can set you apart from other job candidates.
- Enhanced User Experience: Properly implemented design systems ensure consistency and improve the overall user experience in applications.
- Basic Design Principles: Understanding the foundational principles is crucial for building a coherent design system.
- Components: Learn how to effectively use components like buttons, input fields, and other UI elements.
- Styles and Tokens: Explore the use of styles and tokens to maintain uniformity across different components and themes.
- Open-Source Libraries: The instructor highlights the utility of open-source libraries like Tailwind CSS for integrating ready-made design elements.
- Design Guidelines: Following established guidelines, such as Android's Material Design, helps in creating standardized and user-friendly interfaces.
- Figma's Capabilities: Utilize Figma's robust features to create and manage design systems effectively.
- In-Depth Learning: Dedicate time to thoroughly study each component, its guidelines, and specifications.
- Documentation: Document your learnings and observations to solidify your foundational skills.
- Patience and Structure: Avoid rushing through the learning process. Focus on a structured and patient approach to mastering the basics.
This tutorial covers the process of handing off designs to developers in Figma.
- Preparing designs for handoff
- Using Figma's developer tools
- Best practices for a smooth handoff
⛔ Could not find Add a comment button. Here is the entire summary:
🎯 Key points for quick navigation:
- Basics of Figma vs. UX Design: The course focuses on teaching Figma, not UX design. Understanding Design and Developer Handoff
- Steps involved in the handoff process from design completion to development Importance of aligning designer: product manager, and developer expectations.
- Collaboration between Designer and Developer: Initial collaboration between product manager, designer, and developer.Importance of clear communication to ensure feasibility and alignment.
- Handoff Variations in Different Contexts: Varied approaches to handoff in startups, companies, and freelancing.Differences in requirements for native apps, web apps, and websites.
- Figma file structure foundation overview: Establishing a project panel structure in Figma and Creating a dedicated project for Design Systems,Managing separate projects for iOS, Android, and web design
- Work in Progress (WIP) and Go-To-Market (GTM) file management: Differentiating work in progress and final UI components, Utilizing libraries for efficient design workflow Transitioning from WIP to GTM smoothly
- Design Systems project organization: Categorizing files in Design Systems project, Managing Universal guidelines and platform-specific components and Creating clear and informative thumbnail covers for Figma files
- Platform-specific project structure example: Naming convention for project files based on platforms and features, Organizing design flows within Figma files and Localizing components for specific features on a platform**
- Handoff preparation and quick design tips: Creating header components for Figma files, Tips for naming layers and organizing design files and Importance of auditing Figma files for proper handoff preparation
- Understanding CSS properties and inspect element: CSS properties define visual appearance, Inspect element allows editing content and styles and Changes made in inspect element are local and a screenshot is needed before refreshing.
- Developer best practices for design handoff: Take a screenshot before refreshing changes made in inspect element, Have a list of explicit changes made during the design review and Teach developers about inspect element and developer mode.
- Using sections in Figma for development readiness: Sections help mark specific frames ready for development, Sections in Figma help organize design files for developers and Developers can easily identify frames ready for development in dev mode.
- Transitioning from design to dev with Figma's inspect panel: In inspect panel, designers can view detailed UI components, Inspect panel provides access to colors, assets, and component variations and Designers can export assets and components directly from the inspect panel.
The final video in the series focuses on prototyping in Figma.
- Creating interactive prototypes
- Using Figma's prototyping tools
- Testing and sharing prototypes
- Essential for Product Design: Prototyping is crucial for visualizing and testing user interactions and flows in product design.
- Enhances UI Understanding: Allows designers to simulate user experiences and make informed design decisions.
- Triggers: Define how and when interactions start (e.g., on click, on drag).
- Actions: Specify what happens when a trigger is activated (e.g., navigate to another frame).
- Destinations: The target frame or component that the action will affect.
- Animations: Visual transitions that occur during interactions.
- Easing: Controls the speed and timing of animations.
- Duration: Sets how long an animation or transition lasts.
- Scroll Position: Maintains or resets the scroll position between frames for a smoother user experience.
- On Click: Activates when a user clicks an element.
- On Drag: Triggered by dragging actions.
- While Hovering/Pressing: Engaged during hover or press events.
- Key/Gamepad: Interaction through keyboard or gamepad inputs.
- After Delay: Triggers an action after a specified time delay.
- Types of Easing: Controls how animations accelerate or decelerate:
- Linear: Constant speed throughout.
- Ease In: Starts slow and accelerates.
- Ease Out: Starts fast and decelerates.
- Ease In Back: Starts slow, moves back slightly, then accelerates.
- Ease Out Back: Starts fast, overshoots, then settles.
- Ease In and Out: Combination of ease in and ease out for smooth transitions.
- Ease In and Out Back: Combination of easing in both directions with slight overshoot.
- Layer Naming: Accurate layer naming is crucial for Figma's Smart Animate to work effectively, enabling smooth transitions between similar layers.
- Variant Components: Using variant components to create different states (e.g., hover, selected) and integrating them into prototypes.
- Interactive Tabs: Creating and prototyping tabs with different interactive states.
Here are some additional resources to further enhance your Figma skills:
This GitHub repository will be updated with notes and examples as I progress through each video. Stay tuned for more updates!
Feel free to explore the content and contribute to the repository. If you have any questions or suggestions, please open an issue or submit a pull request.
Happy learning!