Figma

How I Got Into It

I learned Figma the same way I learned a lot of practical things: through YouTube, then by sitting with it long enough for it to stop feeling foreign. Once I started doing real design work, it became obvious very quickly that this was where most of that work would live.

I did not come into it from a formal design background. I came into it because I needed a place to think visually, test ideas, and make things that looked like they belonged in the real world. Figma became that place.

The Learning Process

The hardest part at the beginning was not drawing rectangles or choosing colors. It was learning how to think in systems instead of screens. Auto layout, components, reusable structure, spacing that stays consistent. That part took more repetition than I expected.

I also learned that taste alone is not enough. You still need structure. You still need to know how to build a file that makes sense when you come back to it later, or when someone else opens it. That was a good lesson for me because it pushed my idea of Design away from decoration and closer to discipline.

How I Use It Now

Most of my design work happens in Figma. Brand systems, UI directions, landing pages, app screens, rough ideas that later become real products. If I am working on something visual for Duodode, there is a good chance it starts there.

It also sits right in the middle of how I work with code. I can think through a screen in Figma, then move into VS Code and Next.js when it is time to make it real. When motion is involved, it also connects naturally to Rive Animation.

What It Changed

Figma gave me a reliable surface for turning vague visual instinct into something concrete. Before that, a lot of design thinking stayed in my head. After that, it had somewhere to go.

It also changed the speed of iteration for me. I could test, adjust, compare, and keep moving without making design feel heavy. That mattered because a lot of my learning has happened by building, not by waiting until I felt fully prepared.

Related

Design · Duodode · VS Code · Rive Animation · Next.js