Here’s what happened at Figma Config 2024!
Config 2024 took place virtually in San Francisco between June 26th and June 27th. It was one of the most critical UI UX design events worldwide, with an audience of over 10,000 in-person attendees. And there was also a breakdance! This year’s event was more than just a conference – it was like a festival for UI UX designers.
Figma is at the forefront of modern design and innovation! So, Config 2024 brought the latest Figma updates and many new workshops and opportunities for designers to explore the latest trends and network with industry leaders.
So, let’s see what happened at Config 2024 and what Figma updates will make our lives easier!
The first day of the Figma conference was the big day! Dylan Field announced the latest Figma updates: the redesign of the editor interface – Figma UI3, the integration of AI into the platform – Figma AI, an improved Auto Layout, the introduction of Figma Slides, and so many other news.
UI/UX designers and developers stay tuned because Figma will continue to push the boundaries of what’s currently possible in design and development!
Figma UI3 – a Redesigned Interface
Good news! Figma has a new look! One of the significant updates to Figma that came from Config 2024 was the redesigned interface – UI3.
The goal of this redesign is to emphasize our work more. The new interface will include a more immersive canvas, adjustable panels, and an overall more user-friendly look, with usability improvements. This is why the left and right menus automatically hide when following others in a file, and the design panel can be resized according to our preferences.
At the same time, the new Figma interface prioritizes component properties and variables with optional labels and a clearer iconography system. Although the other versions were primarily focused on adding multiple functionalities, Figma UI3 is now cleaner, bubblier, and, overall, friendlier.
The redesign results from the feedback from the Figma Community and their intent to make Figma more accessible to a broader audience. This is something that its competitors still need help with.
The latest Figma update also introduced the new Suggest Auto Layout feature. Now, using Auto Layout is easier than ever! With this update, Figma automatically configures your layouts with Auto Layout, reducing the need for any other manual adjustments. You don’t need to fiddle around with it too much, nor do you need to focus on technical details anymore. It’s like Figma says, “Just sit back and let me take care of it”.
Figma AI – Design Better. Design Faster
But the big announcement at Figma Config came when Dylan Field revealed that Figma now has its integrated AI system! While it’s still in free beta, Figma AI will completely change the entire design process with its powerful capabilities. However, once it’s publicly released, users must subscribe to access its full features.
Figma AI will allow users to generate interfaces – with just a click. The news left everyone speechless by the power of AI when they showed the first functional Figma prototype. Just input your text and click “Make Design” – that’s all. Figma AI will prompt a new UI design where even the graphics and images will be custom and generated. Plus, even the frames and the layers are structured and named correctly!
The AI-generated system uses UI components from the built-in design system, and all elements are completely customizable. We can adjust the style by changing the theme, the color of the buttons, and other components. We can also edit the corner radius, the spacing, and even the font.
Besides the incredible power of instantly generating full user interfaces, Figma has also introduced other AI generative functionalities. From realistic images to text copy and even automatically renaming layers. Even more so, Figma Config 2024 also brought us “Visual Search”, which helps us find everything we’re looking for in our design – with just one reference. Whether it’s a screenshot, a frame, or a basic sketch, just input the image, and we’re good to go!
Figma Slides: Bring Your Presentations to Life with Figma
Right now, Figma is highly focused on design presentations. Dylan Field revealed at Figma Config 2024 that we can now design presentations using Figma Slides.
Figma Slides helps everyone create and co-design professional presentations using previous built-in UI elements and variables. Plus, we can include brand assets, interactive voting, and other collaborative tools. However, the coolest feature is that we can copy and paste the link to the prototype design into the slides. So, it will automatically play and be presented live in the design presentation.
As of 2024, Figma Slides are only free in the beta version. However, starting in early 2025, they will be priced at $3 or $5 per month – depending on the selected Figma pricing plan. Users with a Starter Plan will also have access to Figma Slides but with limited features.
More Figma Updates
The most significant updates from Figma will focus on improving the UI/UX design process. But here are more Figma Updates announced at Config 2024 day one:
AI Features:
- Rewrite text and translate;
- Remove background;
- Visual Search;
Dev Mode:
- Check progress with design statuses;
- Focus View;
- Improved Dev View;
- Code Connect;
Other Figma Updates:
- Responsive Prototype Wiewer;
- 4 Pre-made Ul kits (Apple and Google);
- 4 Pages in FigJam;
On the first day of the Figma Config 2024, the focus was more on the latest Figma Updates. But the second day was designed (no pun intended) to create opportunities for UI UX designers to connect, learn, and grow. That’s why the Figma event wasn’t just a conference. Figma Config 2024 was for community-building through workshops, sessions, and a lot of inspiring speeches from industry leaders.
So, here’s what happened at Figma Config 2024 on the second day:
A “Deep Dive” into the Latest Figma’s Updates
After Dylan Field's highly anticipated announcement of the new Figma features, excitement in the design community reached new heights. This is why, on the second day, we were extremely excited about Figma’s “deep dives”, during which multiple Figma experts were invited to the stage to explain how to use these new capabilities. And there’s no better way to learn how to use Figma than right from, well… Figma.
Experts working at Figma got on the stage in front of thousands of UI UX designers and illustrated to us the power of AI in real life, how to use Figma Slides efficiently, and how to improve our design practices with design systems. But it wasn’t just for UI UX designers! Figma Config 2024 also focused on developers by clarifying the design process and the development stage. This is why speakers illustrated the new features in Dev Mode – Ready for Dev View, Focus View, and Code Connect.
Figma Design and Design Systems
What is the new focus in the UI UX design process? Design Systems. Nowadays, more and more incredible design systems are being released, such as the uinkits Design System. At one of the most awaited sessions, Nate Baldwin – the senior Staff Designer at Adobe – gave us some tips and tricks on managing and building a multi-brand design system and improving it through A/B testing.
What made Config 2024 more than just a Figma event is that they also brought out speakers from diverse industries and backgrounds. Jessica Hische’s session was incredibly inspiring as she talked about how to optimize our entire process – from ideation to creation, and implementation. With her experience in logo design, film, and television production, and even writing books, she taught us the importance of paying attention to invisible details – details that make the difference between a design and a great design.
Developing Digital Products
Figma is mainly used for building digital products—whether websites, mobile applications, software interfaces, and so on. This is why Figma Config 2024 took it a step further by focusing on something essential: the future of product management. This year’s Figma event wasn’t just about how design integrates with product strategy, development, and management. Instead, we talked about how to create products for the future.
Config 2024 brought speakers to discuss the integration of artificial intelligence in UI, UX, and product design. We even touched on how the design process will be in the future—especially with and for Gen Z.
Aaaand that’s a wrap! We hope you enjoyed Figma Config 2024 as much as we did, and we can’t wait for what’s coming next at Figma Config 2025!
