What does Figma do?

Tool: Figma

Their Pitch

Nothing great is made alone.

It's Google Docs for designers. Multiple people can edit the same design file at once without the usual file-sharing nightmare.

Deep Dive & Reality Check

+**Your developers keep asking "what happens when I click this button?"** → Create clickable prototypes that show exact user flows and interactions
+**Stakeholders request changes after you've already built the feature** → Share live prototypes for feedback before any code gets written
+**You're recreating the same buttons and icons in every new design** → Build component libraries where updating one button updates it everywhere instantly
+Real-time multiplayer editing - 5-10 designers work simultaneously without file conflicts or version chaos
+Browser-based with no installation - works on any computer, perfect for remote teams and client presentations

>Your design team emails files back and forth like it's 2010
>You're redesigning the same screens 3 times because stakeholders can't visualize ideas
>Tired of Adobe's $50/month per person when you just need basic prototyping

-Solo freelancers doing fewer than 5 projects per month — the free tier limits you to 3 files
-Teams heavily invested in Adobe workflows — Figma lacks Photoshop-level photo editing capabilities
-Anyone who hates interface changes — the 2024 UI update moved everything around and users are still complaining

*Notion (where you document user research before jumping into Figma wireframes)
*Slack (for notifications when designs are updated and endless debates about button colors)
*Jira (to link design tasks with development sprints so nothing gets lost in translation)
*Linear (for cleaner task management and developer handoffs than Jira's complexity)
*GitHub (where developers grab design specs and assets through community plugins)
*Zeplin (for more detailed developer handoffs when Figma's built-in specs aren't enough)

!The recent UI-3 update cluttered the interface so badly that users report 20-25% productivity drops after years of muscle memory
!"Overage" charges for guest collaborators can surprise you - those client stakeholders reviewing designs aren't always free
!You'll spend way too much time browsing their 1,000+ community plugins instead of actually designing

The design tool that killed emailing PSD files back and forth, but the recent UI update has everyone complaining about 25% productivity drops.