Figma Unveils New Features for Design and Code Collaboration

Figma, the design platform, has announced several new features aimed at streamlining collaboration between designers and developers. The company debuted a Markdown-based editor called Figma Specs, which allows users to define their design language in a simple way. This document can serve as a reference for teams while designing in Figma, ensuring consistency across projects.

Figma Specs is not just a text editor; it also enables users to reference other Figma elements, such as elements on the canvas and embed FigJam diagrams, code layers, and designs. Additionally, teams can bring in more context about design, including design libraries, code libraries, and guidelines to manage context for the design system. This centralized system allows agents to adhere to rules while creating with AI.

Figma has also made its agent on canvas available to a wider user base in the past week. However, given the non-deterministic nature of AI, the company is providing tools to steer it towards more predictable outcomes. The goal is to ensure that designers and developers can work together seamlessly, leveraging AI’s capabilities without sacrificing control.

The company has also made its code layers feature available in public beta, allowing users to add coding to designs on canvas for more interactive prototypes. This feature was announced in private beta back in June and allows users to ask the agent to turn a design into code or change a part of the code to iterate on a prototype. With this feature, designers can create more realistic simulations without needing extensive programming knowledge.

Figma’s chief design officer Loredana Crisan emphasized the importance of Figma as a platform for software teams to decide what they build and ship. She noted that AI has made it possible to build more efficiently, but also highlighted the issue of code waste. According to her, there are 17 times more lines of code being produced today than in the past, yet only 1.3 times more releases. This suggests that much of this code is not built for shipping, but rather for discovery and design.

Figma has been expanding its capabilities with its MCP (Make Product), which now supports over 20 new tools, including Open Code, Dia, Grok Bot, and Indian AI startup Sarvam. The company acquired open-source headless CMS Payload last year and is integrating it with Figma Make for generating dynamic websites and directly managing content. This integration has led to a sixfold increase in Payload’s downloads over the past 12 months.

Figma has been actively expanding its presence in India, where it now has its first office. The company opened this office late last year with sales, partnership, go-to-market, and product support functions. Figma noted that India is its biggest market outside of the United States, with the platform used by 40% of India’s top 100 companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange.