- Designspun
- Posts
- Figma’s New Drops
Figma’s New Drops
Figma debuted four new products last week. What are they and how do they work?
Roger Wong
May 11, 2025
Happy Mother’s Day to all those nurturers out there.
This is my reboot of a newsletter I edited a few years ago called “Designspun.” I aim to highlight some of the design-related links I’ve been reading, watching, and listening to, including any posts I may have written since the previous newsletter.
I hope you find this valuable. Write back and let me know what you think.
—Roger
Last week at Config, Figma took what I can only describe as a $1 billion victory lap. Flush with cash from Adobe’s breakup fee, they’ve doubled their product portfolio overnight by launching Draw, Make, Sites, and Buzz. After spending a few days testing these new offerings, I’m left with one clear impression: Figma is no longer content being just a design tool—they’re building an entire creative ecosystem for digital designers. Sound familiar? I dive into my hands-on experience with each product below, including why Draw isn’t quite the Illustrator killer some are claiming it to be, and why developers are already calling Sites’ output “beyond div soup.”
Highlighted Links
 | As a certified Star Wars geek, I love this TED talk from ILM’s Rob Bedrow. He makes a simple point: ILM creates technology in service of the storyteller, or creative. |
 | A lot of chatter in the larger design and development community has been either “AI is the coolest” or “AI is shite and I want nothing to do with it.” Tobias van Schneider puts it plainly: “AI is here to stay.” |
 | Dan Maccarone writes, “UX is supposed to be the human layer of technology. It’s also supposed to be the place where strategy and empathy actually talk to each other. If we can’t reclaim that space, can’t build products people understand, trust, and want to return to, then what exactly are we doing here?” |
What I’m Reading
A conversation with Jony Ive. Famed designer Jony Ive sits down with Stripe’s CEO Patrick Collison in a rare public interview. It’s a lovely conversation about care, empathy, and doing good work.
Developers Outracing UX Because of AI Acceleration. Short video essay from Jakob Nielsen about what’s happening now with AI-assisted coding. Developers have tools like Cursor, while designers don’t have something comparable. (UX Tigers)
The Deadly “AI Slow Roll” in SaaS: It May Cost You Everything. A warning from Jason Lemkin: Don’t sit on AI because your competitors are not and will outrun you if you slow roll it. (SaaStr)
Is it even possible to create a delightful experience in B2B/SaaS? 5 tactics used by successful products to turn reluctant users into loyal fans. (Axel Lessio, UX Collective)
In Defense of Screens. The screen itself is obviously not to blame — what’s on the screen is. When we use “screen” as a catch-all for our digital dissatisfaction, we’re conflating the surface with what it displays. It’s like blaming paper for misleading news. (Christopher Butler)