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- Tommy (@designertom)
Figma 2025

Thoughts on Figma's announcements - by David Hoang

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5q8YAUTYAyk 

FIGMA POST may18 2025 - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sfritz/
Does Figma have a long-term vision?

If they do, they certainly didn’t reveal it at last week’s Config.

Every product was a reactive announcement to swat at a competitor who arrived at something before Figma.

Figma Draw - Adobe Illustrator
Figma Sites - Framer
Figma Make - Lovable (and similar products)
Figma Buzz - Canva, Adobe Express

The problem is that Figma established itself by simply being a better tool than Adobe, not by being the tool that designers needed.

Now that Figma is the new dominant product for designers, they are facing the exact same problem that Adobe faced - they are so bound by their revenue streams today that they seem unable create something new.

This is where designers need to remember that Figma’s goals aren’t necessarily ours, that was evident at Config 2025.

Designers needed a tool that brought us into code a decade ago. We need to work with real data, not still images. We need direct access to the details that impact the craft of a coded experience.

Our inability to produce actual working code increases the cost and time of product development to create these parallel prototype worlds in Figma that get thrown away and have to be recreated by another team in code.

Designers need to produce viable code, period.

Here is the ultimate dilemma I see - for Figma to create a solution that puts designers in code it will destroy nearly all of its existing products (revenue streams) - Figma Design, DevMode, Figma Sites, and Figma Make. If Config 2025 is any indicator, it doesn’t seem like that is on the roadmap.

My advice to all designers - move into code as quickly as you can. Even without the AI tools you have now, it is easier, faster, and better than Figma.
The Big Kids


Figma 2025
Conference - Config

Conference takeaways
We're combining this week's Leaks issue with a lookback at what we learned on the streets of Config.

We're one week removed from Figma's largest feature announcement, and the dust has settled.
In fact, most of the design industry has moved onto talking about Airbnb's new design (with mixed reviews), Google's impressive Material 3 launch, or Bungie's alleged design theft.
But behind the glossy announcements and fancy demo videos, there's something bigger happening that I can't stop thinking about. Something that has me more excited about designing software than I've been in years.
- Tommy (@designertom)
The Wireframe
What the streets of Config were really saying
Design and code are collapsing
Consolidation vs. Specialization
The Weekly Leaks
Figma's Suite Era Begins (But the Streets Had More Signal)
If you missed it, here’s what Figma launched:

Figma Sites – One-click responsive websites with interactions and CMS
Figma Grid – Auto-layout tables and structured content without friction
Figma Make – Prompt-to-code playground (competing with Bolt/Lovable)
Figma Buzz – Canva-style tooling for marketers
Figma Draw – The stealth killer: new vector tools with brush + texture control
It’s the start of Figma’s Creative Suite era. Everything is rolling out in beta or phased release, with new pricing models coming. Adobe's on notice.
But the real signal wasn’t on stage. It was in the streets and the after-parties.
I heard from people like:
Jitter’s CEO, who teased motion systems, easing libraries, and team presets
Ion Design's CEO, who runs the established newcomer with serious backing
Tom Krcha, ex-Adobe XD and Miro, hinting at a new stealth tool​
Allie Vogel, whose Flexxi design team scaled from 2 to 15 while replacing UX writers with LLMs and human translators
Ivan Zhao (Notion CEO), who apparently banned the color green from Notion offices (yes, including plants)

Meanwhile, Stripe Sessions was happening literally across the street.
Jony Ive and Zuck were trading philosophies while Figma tried to claim the creative workflow. It felt like a turf war for who owns the future of digital building.
The Wall Between Design and Code Is Cracking
Forget the features. Let’s talk about what they imply.
This moment isn’t just about shipping products faster. It’s about the dissolving boundary between idea and implementation.

​On our livestream, Ryo Lu (ex-Notion, now leading design at Cursor) said:
“We’ve seen this before - punch cards to assembly to high-level languages. Now AI lets you go from any input to any output.”
He described a world where:
Designers interact with a canvas
Coders use an IDE
PMs write a doc and watch the product scaffold itself as they type
... in the same tool. And it’s close.
Tools like Cursor and Bolt are already experimenting with this.
Ryo built a fully functional prototype of “Baby Cursor”, using Cursor to build Cursor. That’s what velocity looks like when you close the feedback loop between ideation and production.
And this shift isn’t just happening in tooling. It’s happening in how people think about building.
The form of input doesn’t matter. The intent does.
Together with FRAMER​
Framer’s lining up a wave of releases for the Spring Event on May 21, but the details stay locked away.

Everyday workflows compress from minutes to seconds, creative controls feel sharper than anything you’ve touched, and a fresh layer of “superpowers” lets Framer stretch further without breaking stride.
If blank canvases, stray bits of code, or performance-draining experiments have slowed you down, the next drop could make them vanish. It’s fast, it’s visual, and, judging by the private demos, borderline magic.
Consolidation vs. Specialization: Who Actually Wins?
There’s tension in the air.
On one hand: platforms like Figma are expanding horizontally, trying to become the all-in-one.
On the other: tools like Framer, Jitter, Subframe, Spline, Unicorn Studio are laser-focused on doing one thing extremely well (for now).

Soleio (investor in Figma, Framer, Vercel) summed it up:
“Design falls into two spheres: alignment and production. They shouldn’t operate in silos, but they carry different approaches.”
In other words:
Alignment tools are fluid, conceptual, malleable
Production tools are structured, fixed, reliable
Trying to make one tool serve both purposes perfectly is tricky.
But we’re seeing big bets on both models. Figma’s betting on total workflow dominance. Cursor and Framer are betting on focused utility that integrates with the broader ecosystem.
And what matters most is not the tool, but the person wielding it.
The builders who know how to stitch it all together, who use AI to amplify their workflows rather than outsource them, are emerging as the new normal.
Weekly Leaks
We consolidated this week's "leaks" to make time for our recap of Config - but we've got some good whispers to share:

​Ion Design​
Edit any app like a Figma file, then ship to GitHub with full CI/CD flow.
Ion just opened to the public and it’s way deeper than a visual layer (and the best-funded in the space).
Bonus leak: they’re building an AI-powered Storybook killer. Every component gets its own live playground, prop controls, and auto-generated variants.
This one’s for designers inside the codebase.
​Framer​
Two AI features are set to drop May 21. We’re under embargo, but trust: they’re real, they’re fast, and they might kill your “blank canvas” anxiety forever.
​Jitter​
Motion design systems are in the works: team libraries, easing presets, and animated templates. The CEO told me in person at Config. Keep your eyes out this summer.
​Unicorn Studio​
You're gonna love this one: they quietly came out of closed beta. Open signups now. Physics-driven design meets web-ready motion with no-code weirdness. It's time.
​Tom Krcha’s Stealth Tool​
Former Adobe XD and Miro leader is back, teasing a Cursor-powered design mode that smells like a full tool in the making.
The Bottom Line
Figma’s no longer just a design tool - it’s a suite now
The barrier between designers and engineers is eroding fast
Expect consolidation and specialization to thrive - depending on the context
Tool wars don’t matter. Workflow mastery does
The new edge isn’t access - it’s speed, adaptability, and intent
What hill are you dying on? Hit reply and tell me.
See you next Tuesday,
—Tommy
P.S. Hunter and I are diving deeper into how design founders and indie builders are using media to build cult-like user growth. Come watch today at 10am PT.
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Quip (amazon)

Atlassian
Jira and Jira Align are two distinct software products offered by Atlassian, each serving different purposes and scales of operation.
Jira is primarily a project management tool designed to support the work of individual teams. It is widely recognized as an industry-leading agile project management tool, enabling teams to plan, track, and manage their work efficiently. Jira is excellent for managing tasks, issues, and workflows within a single team, making it ideal for smaller projects or teams working independently1.
Jira Align, on the other hand, operates on a much larger scale. It is designed to coordinate the work of multiple agile teams across an organization, aligning their efforts towards common objectives set by the organization. Jira Align connects to Jira and uses data from Jira to track progress against objectives at the levels of Programs, Portfolios, and the Enterprise. This makes it a valuable tool for large organizations that need to manage and optimize their software development investments, prioritize projects, and bring products and services to market faster and more predictably
Task scripts to automate in JIRA Kanban
Planning out design sprints, prioritizing tasks (kandban/jira)

​​​​​​​
Automation

Terraform,
Terraform is an infrastructure as code tool that lets you build, change, and version infrastructure safely and efficiently. This includes low-level components like compute instances, storage, and networking; and high-level components like DNS entries and SaaS features.
Terraform | HashiCorp Developer

Helm
Helm is a tool for managing Kubernetes applications with charts, which are easy to create, version, share, and publish.

Helm

Kustomize
Kustomize - Kubernetes native configuration management

. Create a Zapier account and navigate to “Zapier Agents.”



Amplitude JD
8+ years of experience in some combination of cloud-native software development, platform engineering, site reliability engineering, and/or cloud infrastructure, with a more recent focus on Kubernetes and the cloud-native ecosystem.
Strong expertise in Kubernetes and related CNCF projects (e.g., Argo CD/Workflows, Backstage, Envoy, CoreDNS, and more) and in simplifying complex cloud infrastructure for broader teams.
Operational experience at scale with technologies like Kafka and Airflow.
Proficient in common infrastructure languages like Golang, Python, and Terraform, with experience developing and operating production systems.
Extensive experience with AWS cloud infrastructure, networking, and security.
Proven experience with monitoring and observability tools (Datadog, Splunk, Prometheus, Grafana Cloud, etc.) and a strong understanding of system performance tuning.
Expertise in building abstractions over Kubernetes to simplify developer interaction with the platform.
Excellent communication skills, with the ability to collaborate across teams, build consensus, and drive initiatives in a high-pressure environment.
High level of empathy and patience, with a commitment to mentoring and helping others succeed, and the ability to incorporate feedback and turn it into actionable improvements.
Experience with infrastructure-as-code and automation (Terraform, Helm, Kustomize, etc.), with a focus on reducing toil and operational overhead.
A mindset focused on improving the developer experience and business alignment, with the flexibility to make decisions that may go against ideal technical preferences when necessary
adobe infrastructure
Minimum 2 to 3 complete end to end implementation experience on AEM is must and should have played the lead role in one of implementation
Hands-on work experience on AEM as cloud service and customizations Understanding of cloud infrastructure and experience working with Adobe cloud manager
Knowledge of SPA framework Expertise in React JS and integration with AEM
Experience of custom OSGI services development
Experience of creating OSGI bundle Knowledge of CRX and Apache Sling
Strong understanding of AEM out of the box core components client libraries and features
Experience of creating custom AEM components reusable page templates
Understanding and experience in setup of Dynamic Media Smart crop web optimized image delivery AEM DAM Metadata Schemas Dispatcher cache workflows etc
Proficiency with design patterns and architectural patterns and capability to provide technical design for business requirements
Should be able own and provide solution for scalability performance security requirements for application hosted on AEM
Experience in SSO implementation Knowledge on implementing MSA AAD authentication using MSAL libraries
Knowledge of configuring AEM OOTB User interface and AEM authoring customization
Experience of implementing and consuming web services
Understanding of various peripheral digital marketing systems like DAM Adobe Target Adobe Analytics AAM etc
Create and update Azure DevOps CICD pipelines for AEM cloud service
In depth understanding of User management roles permissions
Implementing custom security requirements
Defining and implementing custom search requirement and optimization in AEM
Strong experience on asset workflow customization
Custom Workflows implementation in AEM
Knowledge of external libraries for asset processing

Nice to have Skills

Integration of CMS with external apps like Discord Marketing apps CRM
Experience of migrating large set of content and assets from legacy systems to AEM
Exposure to any other CMS
Integration experience with any ecommerce system
Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) Platform
 Adobe DAM Lead will be responsible for designing, implementing, and managing the migration of digital assets from various DAM systems to Adobe DAM. This role requires a deep understanding of DAM technologies, metadata management, and integration with enterprise systems.

Key Responsibilities

Lead theDAM solutions leveraging Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) platform.
Oversee and guide the migration of digital assets from existing DAM systems to Adobe DAM.
Collaborate with cross-functional and offshoreteams, including IT, content creators, and project managers, to ensure a seamless migration process.
Develop and implement metadata models, tagging configurations, and workflow capabilities within Adobe DAM.
Conduct thorough post-migration validation to ensure all assets are correctly migrated and accessible.
Integrate Adobe DAM with other enterprise systems such as CRM, CMS, and marketing automation platforms.
Optimize DAM system performance to handle large asset volumes and ensure fast retrieval times.
Implement security measures to control access to assets and ensure compliance with data privacy regulations.

Skills And Qualifications

At least 7-10 years of experience in Digital Asset Management, with a minimum of 5-7 years of hands-on experience with Adobe DAM.
Strong understanding of metadata management, ETL processes, and cloud migrations.
Experience with workflow capabilities, tagging configuration, and integration with third-party enterprise systems.
Excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to work collaboratively with cross-functional teams.
Strong communication skills and the ability to present technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders.
From Ioanna
Playing around with Lovable? Then you must consider this:

🚨 With AI democratising coding, enabling rapid app-building, and accelerating prototyping, the risk of creating solutions that lack data-informed reasoning and are disconnected from real user needs is higher than ever.

🙋‍♀️ So what can we do?
✅ Complement every build effort with real user testing. Inform your experiments with insights from actual people.

👇 Here’s one way to add more depth to your tech-driven solutions:

❤️‍🔥 Run your Lovable link through a real research study using Optimal, and you’re already learning.

💬 Here’s a quick tutorial to help you get started + find the link to set up your study in the comments.

P.S. And way to go, Optimal - we absolutely need more learning, and bringing prototypes in front of people should be as easy as building them 👏
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