Figma for Non-Designers: A Guide for Marketers and Project Managers

It’s common to say that today’s digital scene is not complete without visual communication; that is, we don’t get to the bottom of it. Whether it is creating compelling marketing material or designing a user interface that provides simple functionality, designers are inundated with technologies that facilitate they’re messaging system – the professionals in different disciplines. Figma, a robust interface design tool that links designers, has always officially been occupied by designers. On the one hand, the ease of use and flexibility of this platform are essential for the common people, such as the advertising and the project managers on the flip side. In this all-encompassing paper, we will go into detail regarding what Figma is, which functionality it has, how it is used, what benefits it offers, and the challenges that hold it back from being usable by non-designers.

How to Start a Project in Figma?

1. Sign up:

It will hardly take any time before you start working with Figma since you just need to create an account to activate one. The registration starts with an easy step and only necessities the basic details of your email address and password.

2. Explore the Interface:

Unfolding to its initial window, users are greeted by Figma’s simple interface with recognizable design elements and panels identically placed. Spend a few minutes exploring the different options including the toolbar, layers panel and properties panel that will enable you to comfortably familiarize with their functions.

Exploring figma

To learn more: Figma Interface Guide

3. Start a Project:

Alongside hosting pre-build projects and multiple types of files, Figma can be useful for varying requirements. It doesn’t matter if you’re creatively coming up with a new project or contributing to an ongoing one, you just need to file a new file and it will be as easy as ABC. Optimize your file choice corresponding to the need of your project aiming for design files for UI/UX projects or presentation files for slide decks.

start new project

4. Add Elements:

Figma’s range of tools for the element layer extends to the possibility of different types of entities added to the canvas. From creating the basic shapes and text to images and icons they become the building blocks or components for you to design or channel your mood. Furnish them as you wish to better visualize your urges

added rectagle element

5. Collaborate:

Figma’s real-time collaboration feature is one of the best addition to its list of unique abilities. Share a credentials link to the file with your colleagues so that they can collaborate as well. It is easy for there to be several stakeholders to work on the project at any one time, and constant communication can be established, as this facilitates smooth iterations.

Create new team

6. Export or Share:

When your project is approved and at the time you reach the certain milestone, your current design will be exported for approval by the manager whom you can share it directly with your stakeholders for feedback. Figma has various export options, thus one can export projects in different formats which can then be opened in software or platforms that are compatible using the different formats.

share and export

Types of Files

Figma offers a lot of freedom in terms of the projects and files an individual is creating. Some common types include:

• Design Files: Various templates, icons, and other elements of the UI/UX design for websites and mobile applications are mostly incorporated in these files. Designers can utilize the design tools in Figma to check the quality of their prototypes, and make adjustments to make the designs more interactive.
• Presentation Files: The tool is very convenient wonderfully and is just perfect to make visually attractive slide decks and presentations for even meetings, workshops or pitches. Figma can be employed by marketerors and project managers to create eye-catching presentations that functionally explain their thoughts and ideas.
• Prototype Files: Composing an interactive prototype design to gain perception of working prototype from stakeholders. With non-designers you can provide Figma tool to test the usability of the interface with some interactive mockups that can be sent to team members or the client for their feedback.

How Figma help Marketers and Project Managers?

1. Collaboration:

Fluid work makes the employees working on the same project even in different locations congruent by ensuring the alignment of various contributors through transparency & communication in the real time.

2. Accessibility:

Web-based functionals provide the users with opportunities of working on projects from any device connected to the internet. Mobile devices are also among those tools. This feature increases remote cooperation.

3. Version Control:

The automated versioning function allows us to enforce reliable change tracking and history management, assuring data integrity and speeding up iteration.

4. Prototyping:

Simplified prototyping assist not only the professionals in the design but also the none of those in the design to create the interactive mockups which can be used again and again for refining the ideas and collecting users’ feedback.

5. Integration:

Smooth integration between Slack, GitHub, and Trello technologies reduces to a minimum clerical workload, improving efficiency and increasing cooperation within the frames given.

Conclusion

In sum Figma proves itself as primary tool used widely at our today’s digital world, where gender of user does not matter. Its user–friendly interface, full functionality that there is and more importantly the real-time collaboration that it brings about, create an effortless project management and the fact that ideas are realized. From file designs, workings slides, multi-page prototypes to complex documents, Figma has got all the necessary versatility and accessibility features that a team needs to collaborate efficiently across various creative disciplines and locations. In spite of the practical difficulties of using Figma for nonprofessionals, the collaborative nature, accessibility, versioning, prototyping and the ‘all-in-one-place’ nature of Figma imply its critical part in modern visual communication and design at work.