How we moved from InVision/Sketch to Figma
As a designer and design leader I believe Figma is the best collaborative design tool available. Just in case you are not familiar with it, “Figma is a cloud-based design and prototyping tool for digital projects. It’s made so that users can collaborate on projects and work pretty much anywhere.” (Source: designshack.com)
I started using Figma in 2016. At the time I was happy and efficiently working in Sketch and didn’t want to leave it after many years in Illustrator. In the early days Figma was a bit buggy and didn’t play well with other apps. But Figma has made great improvements over the years to make it robust and has now become the industry standard. I’ve now brought Figma to two companies and two teams and it has made a difference in so many ways.
There are many articles available about why you should switch to Figma and the benefits of it. But let’s consider how to make this change.
How to make it happen
How you move to Figma might depend on your company size. If you are an individual or if you work at a company not yet using Figma, I suggest you get a free starter account to test it out. If you are the one leading the charge to get your team or organization to make the switch, here are some suggestions.
10 Things to do when moving to Figma
- Do a cost analysis and present it to leadership and IT
In a spreadsheet track current costs, number of seats used (or needed), true-up dates and contract end dates. Chart design tool costs YoY from 2–3 years ago with projected costs through the end of 2022. This is the evidence your business unit and IT will need to help justify the time, cost and effort it takes to change vendors. By adding Figma I was able to remove three applications. #win-win - Be a patient and responsive partner to IT
This is a great chance to build or strengthen your relationship with IT. They likely have many demands and requests all day long. Show patience and understanding even with your sense of urgency to get Figma set up for all. Offer your help to connect IT with your Figma sales rep. And be responsive with any requests IT may have, such as a prepared list of individuals needing Figma editor and viewer access. - Create a migration plan to use the tool 100% of the time
By when should all project files be in Figma? Your plan may depend on how long you have licenses for the other tools. It also may depend on access to design system styles and components. But the shorter the period is between old and new tools, the easier for everyone. Having prototypes in both InVision and Figma is confusing and will delay the migration process. - Get the team excited by sharing cool tips
Create a dedicated Slack channel such as #figma-tips or #help-figma and responsively answer all posted questions. - Teach the teams how to use Figma by presenting a Figma 101 demo specific to the team’s focus or discipline
For example: we presented a general view of Figma to our colleagues in Content Strategy and then demo-ed how to flow content from Google Sheets to Figma. Not only did they see immediate value in this because how much time it would save them, they began using it right away. We also held several designer specific tutorial/best practices Figma sessions on how to set up files, use libraries and provide more resources for tips. - Start with small projects and features to begin onboarding teams
Get warmed up in Figma with a small project like a login flow or a contact/help/support flow. This might help teams explore and get oriented in the new tool and without a major time investment. - Encourage Designers to ‘play’ in Figma
Have a team virtual offsite or happy hour coming up? Try making mood boards together or playing games in Figma to get teammates interacting with Figma in a fun and inviting atmosphere. - Engage PMs and devs with @mentions and following observation mode
Figma will send an email notification to anyone you @mention which is a great nudge to get colleagues into the file. If presenting in a video meeting, encourage attendees to open the file to click on your avatar in the upper right bar to follow along as you navigate between designs. - Celebrate when PMs and Devs use Figma
I can’t overstate this! Give big kudos when you see any of your non-designer colleagues in Figma. Bring them along in this process with you. It will pay off in spades in your collaboration. - Be patient, be empathic, and be persistent
Changing tools and processes for a team or even an entire organization within a company takes time plus a lot of communication and education. Be empathetic and think how you’d feel having to move to a new tool when you may not be ready and think you don’t have time to learn it. Recognize some will adopt Figma faster than others. But keep evangelizing the benefits of collaboration in Figma. Before long everyone will be using it.
So jump into Figma! Set up Figma 101 sessions, record and share them, and make sure people know where to go to get help. And get ready for amazing collaboration.
