Clearing the Way for Craft: Highlights from Config 2025

Figma Sites: Design. Publish. Repeat.

 

 

For years, I’ve dreamed of finishing a website design and simply hitting “publish.” No exporting; no rebuilding. Just live. 

With Figma Sites, that vision is now reality. Designers can turn their design files into interactive, dynamic websites directly within Figma — with support for animations, custom code blocks, and an upcoming content management system that enables real-time updates from any team member. While it won’t replace every website just yet, it’s perfect for high-fidelity prototypes and makes the path from concept to launch faster and more seamless than ever. 

 

Grid: Structure Meets Flexibility 

 

 

The grid’s evolution — from the early days of the printing press to Bauhaus theory to CSS Grid and Flexbox to Figma’s own Guides and Auto Layout — shows how much of a staple it is in providing structure and alignment in design. However, in Figma Design, Auto Layout can get clunky as designs grow complex. Grid is a major upgrade — bringing the power of CSS Grid and Flexbox for smoother, more scalable layouts. 

Designers can now move fluidly between freeform exploration and structured layouts. Whether building dashboard UIs, image galleries, or responsive interfaces, Grid allows elements to span across cells, stack intelligently, and reorder effortlessly. It maintains precision without sacrificing flexibility, giving you more control over both design and responsiveness. Simply put, it makes complex layout work feel intuitive. 

 

Figma Make: Speak Your Idea to Reality

 

 

Static designs can only go so far in achieving alignment or assessing feasibility. At One North, our teams have often explored various ways to turn ideas into working prototypes — efforts that typically required multiple tools with mixed success, depending on time and resource constraints. 

Figma addressed this challenge with Make, a tool that empowers anyone — from designers to developers — to generate fully coded prototypes using simple, conversational language. Just describe what you want or drop in your design, and watch it come to life. The power of AI, combined with native Figma integration, accelerates iteration and removes the need to switch tools or delay feedback. While questions remain on how scalable Make will be, it brings your concepts closer to realization than ever — all within Figma’s collaborative space. 

 

Figma Buzz: Brand Building Made Easy 

 

 

Figma Buzz expands what design can support — especially for teams managing a wide range of brand expressions. 

From social media graphics to event materials and merch, Buzz creates a dedicated environment for producing polished, consistent brand assets at scale. It builds directly off your existing design files, offering grid views, batch creation, and effortless collaboration. It’s brand governance made simple — and creative execution made faster for everyone. 

 

Figma Draw: Draw It Where You Design It 

 

 

As someone who enjoys drawing and experimenting with visual expression, having to leave Figma for that work was less than ideal. So I was excited to learn that with Figma Draw, it can happen right inside Figma. 

Draw is a freeform, vector-based drawing tool that gives designers and illustrators access to expressive effects like dynamic strokes, text on a path, textures, noise, and progressive blurs. The best part? It’s all integrated, allowing you to tap into existing styles, variables, and design systems — so every illustration fits seamlessly into your broader visual language. No exporting. No context-switching. Just creative flow. 

 

Making Space for the Work That Matters 

 

Each of these new features shares a common goal: to remove friction. From layout to launch, illustration to iteration, Figma continues its evolution into a true end-to-end creative platform. What started as a collaborative design tool ten years ago has now grown into a full design ecosystem — one that supports every phase of the process, without forcing you to leave your creative environment. 

As a visual designer, it’s exciting to see a platform so clearly focused on freeing us up to do our best work. With fewer barriers and more built-in tools, there’s more room to focus on the details, the storytelling, and the craft that makes design impactful. 

Photo Credit: Paul Evangelista