The benefits of Design Thinking extend beyond the boundaries of a single project or team: when applied as a way of thinking, it can change the way you approach problems and tackle challenges. That’s why we have so many ways to help your team get into Figma design thinking mode. Figma empowers teams everywhere with its collaborative design platform, so you should also be ready to embrace its principles on an ongoing basis by following these suggestions.
Define Your User Experience Priorities
What are some key pain points of your target audience? How might your users go about achieving a goal, and what could stand in their way? What are the biggest design challenges you’re currently facing? What’s keeping you from achieving your big-picture goals? By exploring these questions and more, you’ll be able to identify what aspects of the user experience you’ll want to focus on as you get into Figma design thinking mode. We’ve also got a handy guide full of Design Thinking tips and best practices to help you organize your thoughts and get the most out of your team’s Figma experience.
Create a Mnemonic Sketch
Mnemonic sketches are a great way to start your Figma design thinking process. They’re an easy and efficient way to explore the visual language of your brand and identify visual themes for your design project. What is the mood of your brand? What is the message you want to convey? What do your customers need? These are the types of questions you should be asking yourself while sketching your mnemonic sketch. You don’t have to be an experienced designer to get started with this process. Just open a new Figma sketch and start drawing. You can even sketch on paper and import your sketch into Figma. You’ll be surprised at how helpful this can be for getting your creative juices flowing.
Establish a Canonical View
Your canonical view is a reference for the specific view you want to be the foundation for all design elements. This has a range of applications, from creating a consistent way to communicate specific details about a user flow to establishing a unified design language for a design project. When you establish your canonical view, you’re effectively creating a reference to which all aspects of your user experience will be anchored. What are the key design elements of your product or service? How can you unify them visually to create a consistent experience across all touchpoints? These are the questions you should be asking yourself as you establish your canonical view.
Define Your Design Language
Once you’ve established your canonical view, you’re ready to define your design language. A design language is a specific visual approach to a product or service that unifies the design. It’s the visual solution to a problem and a set of rules for designers to follow to achieve an end result. When establishing your design language, you want to identify what design elements are core to your product or service. Where does your product sit within the broader industry? What visual themes or trends do you want to leverage? What visual vocabulary do you want to use? How do you want to display your product or service? Take the time to identify the design elements that will be at the core of your visual language.
Set Up a Figma Feedback Loop
As you get into Figma design thinking mode, it’s important to engage in a feedback loop with your team. In many situations, it will be beneficial for team members to provide feedback on each other’s design work. When team members engage in a feedback loop, they can provide valuable insight and perspective that can help improve your designs. With Figma, it’s easy to set up a feedback loop. You can create a team and invite individuals to share their feedback on designs. When reviewing designs, make sure to provide specific feedback so designers can use it to make necessary adjustments. When you’re getting started in your design thinking process, a feedback loop can help you get things off the ground.
Add an Animation Trigger
An animation trigger is a specific visual indicator that encourages users to take an action or experience an outcome. It’s a tried-and-true design tactic that’s especially useful for digital experiences. An animation trigger is a great way to communicate a certain action or outcome. These can range from as simple as moving a slider to as complex as a complete onboarding sequence. By adding an animation trigger to your designs, you can visually prompt users to take the desired action. This is especially useful for digital experiences that require users to take a certain action without any visual guidance.
Lock Down Final Artwork & Assets
At the start of a project, you might be inclined to jot down rough sketches or upload text-based assets to Figma. But, as your design thinking process progresses, it’s important to lock down final artwork and assets. When you’re getting into Figma design thinking mode, there may be times where you need to make changes to the visual elements in your designs. It’s important to lock down final artwork and assets so you don’t end up having to make changes to the core design elements. By locking down final artwork and assets, you’ll be able to fully focus on the design thinking process. When you’re ready to publish your designs, you can simply pull the necessary assets from Figma.
Wrap Up
Figma is a collaborative design platform that helps teams bring their ideas to life faster and with less friction. Whether you’re just getting started or are looking for ways to take your team’s Figma experience to the next level, you’ll find helpful tips in this blog post. The benefits of Design Thinking extend beyond the boundaries of a single project or team: when applied as a way of thinking, it can change the way you approach problems and tackle challenges. That’s why we have so many ways to help your team get into Figma design thinking mode.
