Introduction

Figma has rapidly become the go-to design tool for UI/UX designers around the world. Its collaborative capabilities, ease of use, and powerful features make it a staple in the modern design workflow. But despite its intuitive interface, many designers overlook small but impactful tips and tricks that can significantly improve their productivity and design quality.

In this blog, we’ll uncover Figma tips every designer should know—but often miss. Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned pro, these insights can help you work smarter, collaborate better, and bring more polish to your designs.

1. Use Auto Layout Like a Pro

Auto Layout isn't just for buttons—it’s a powerhouse feature that helps create responsive components.

• Apply it to cards, nav bars, modals, and more.
• Nest auto layout frames inside each other for complex layouts.
• Combine with padding, spacing, and alignment for flexible designs that scale.

Pro tip: Use Shift + A to apply auto layout instantly.

2. Leverage Styles for Consistency

Instead of manually choosing font sizes or colors every time:

• Use text styles, color styles, and effect styles.
• Styles make global changes easier and ensure brand consistency.
• Name your styles clearly: e.g., H1 / Desktop, Primary / Brand Blue.

Bonus: Combine styles with variables in design systems to update themes dynamically.

3. Master Components & Variants

Components are Figma’s secret sauce. Use them to:

• Reuse buttons, cards, nav items, etc.
• Create variants to manage states like hover, disabled, or active.
• Swap components easily via the property panel.

Tip: Use Option + Command + K (Mac) to create components quickly.

4. Use 'Selection Colors' to Save Time

Have a group of mixed elements with different colors? Click on Selection Colors in the right panel to:

• See all used colors at once
• Change a color across multiple elements instantly

Great for quick edits during design reviews or color updates.

5. Organize Layers Intelligently

Figma files can get messy fast. Make it a habit to:

• Name your layers clearly
• Group related elements with frames (not groups)
• Use / in layer names for better asset export structure (e.g., Icons/Arrow/Left)

Tip: Use Cmd + Opt + G to frame selected items.

6. Use Plugins to Speed Up Workflows

Figma’s community is packed with amazing plugins:

• Content Reel for placeholder text/images
• Blush for illustrations
• Iconify or Feather Icons for icons
• Figmify for dummy UI data

Don’t be afraid to explore new ones every month.

7. ⏱ Quick Actions = Instant Speed Boost

Press Cmd + / to open the Quick Actions search bar.

Use it to:

• Insert components
• Run plugins
• Switch pages
• Access commands without mouse clicks

Keyboard-first designers swear by it.

8. Create Interactive Prototypes With Smart Animate

Figma's prototyping tools go beyond basic links. Use Smart Animate to:

• Animate between component states
• Smooth out transitions
• Mimic real app behavior

Pair with auto layout and variants for advanced interactive flows.

9. Use Constraints Thoughtfully

Constraints determine how layers resize in their frames. Mastering this helps you:

• Design responsive components
• Control how elements behave on resize
• Align elements perfectly without manual fiddling

Set constraints before grouping or framing items.

10. Test Designs in 'Present' Mode Often

Preview your work early and often:

• Test flows
• Check for alignment issues
• Validate UX transitions

Don’t wait until the end to find out something doesn’t feel right.

Bonus: Use Figma Mirror on mobile for mobile UI previews.

11. Use Design Systems Libraries

When working in teams or scaling design efforts:

• Publish components to team libraries
• Use version history for auditing changes
• Share tokens/styles via libraries for consistency across files

Design systems become way easier when libraries are well maintained.

12. Use 'Page Structure' Strategically

Instead of putting everything on one canvas:

• Separate by pages: Wireframes, Components, Design, Prototypes, Dev Handoff
• Name pages clearly to make handoff easy for devs and PMs

This reduces clutter and confusion.

13. Use Boolean Operations for Icon & Shape Design

Combine shapes using Boolean groups:

• Union, Subtract, Intersect, Exclude

Perfect for creating custom icons, logos, or illustrations.

Bonus: These can be converted to components and reused easily.

14. Use Interactive Components (Beta)

Instead of drawing multiple frames for hover or toggles:

• Use Interactive Components to simulate states inside a single component
• Reduce prototype clutter and file size

Great for complex UI behavior demos.

15. Export Assets the Right Way

Don’t just take screenshots! Learn to:

• Export SVGs for crisp vector icons
• Export @2x or @3x PNGs for retina displays
• Export assets as components for use in code

Use slices only when necessary.

Conclusion

Figma is a deceptively simple tool—easy to start with, but deep enough to supercharge your design practice once you master its advanced features.

The tips above go beyond surface-level tricks. They reflect habits of efficient designers who use Figma not just to design faster, but smarter.

By embedding these strategies in your daily workflow, you’ll:

• Save time
• Improve design quality
• Collaborate more effectively

Whether you're working solo or in a team, Figma mastery is UX superpower.