Discover the versatile design tool Figma and how it can enhance your web and mobile application designs. Learn how Figma can boost your career prospects, from Web Designer to Design Director, and navigate the best ways to acquire this sought-after skill.
Figma is a browser-based user interface design tool that lets Web Designers collaborate as they build layouts for user interfaces for webpages and mobile applications. The program lets users add color, text, graphics, and images to designs, allowing them to build layouts with interactive elements like scrolling graphics, animations, or slideshows. If you’ve always wanted to learn Figma but can’t figure out how to get started, this guide is for you. Here, you’ll learn more about the various ways to learn Figma, free resources to take advantage of, and the types of careers that commonly use Figma.
Figma is a browser-based user interface design tool that allows users to collaborate with other editors to build unique and accessible website designs. Users work on collaborative shared documents to build interactive prototypes of webpages, making Figma an ideal skill to learn for aspiring Web Designers who want to build complex, multi-feature webpages. Since Figma allows users to update their designs in real-time without downloading an application, teams can collaborate anytime and anywhere.
Figma is also a vector graphics design tool, meaning that all the designs produced are resizable and replicable. This is important for user experience (UX) design because it assures designers can optimize their layouts for several screens, ranging from mobile phones to desktop PCs. Regardless of the project, Figma will give teams the tools they need to construct complex prototypes of their web layouts. Then, users can test these prototypes and ensure that their designs meet all their requirements.
Since Figma prides itself on its collaborative community of designers, there are many readily available plug-ins, templates, and widgets that make designing interfaces much easier. If a Figma user runs into a problem, there is a good chance that another user has already run into that problem, solved it, and made their solution readily available as a plug-in or template.
Read more about what Figma is and why you should learn it.
Figma lets users collaborate in real-time to build and prototype user interfaces and web applications. Using vector graphics design tools, teams of designers can build complicated wireframe layouts for websites that can be resized to be optimized for screens of any given size. In addition, users can add interactive elements such as scrolling and hovering functionalities to their designs, letting them make sure that their webpages look and feel like modern designs. This lets users produce working prototypes of their webpages that can be easily tested, allowing designers to receive feedback quickly. Figma even allows users to export some amount of code from the prototype designs to hand off to developers once the prototype has been perfected.
In addition, because Figma is such a potent collaboration tool, there is a massive community of designers and developers constantly creating new plug-ins, templates, and widgets for public consumption. Through Figma’s website and other forums, users can share new designs, provide feedback on templates, and improve on the functionality of interactive interface elements. Every day, more and more new Figma resources are being developed. The resources that are being developed can help users modify and re-purpose existing resources to fit their needs better. Thanks to the Figma community, users aren’t just able to collaborate with their team on a web design; they can collaborate with the entire community of Figma designers and developers on their web designs.
As one of the more commonly used web design tools, Figma is used in many professional industries. Since an effective web presence is vital for companies of all sizes, almost all industries will employ or hire Web Designers, UX Designers, and other Figma specialists.
Web Designers: Web Designers are responsible for creating the visual look and feel of a company or client’s web presence. They will use programs like Figma to produce the prototype webpages they will hand off to Web Developers to code and launch. This field works primarily with the graphic design side of web design, building assets and interfaces rather than programming webpages.
User Experience Designers: User Experience Designers ensure that a website’s interface is accessible and provides a positive user experience. They perform testing and market research to observe and analyze user behavior to understand how users interact with a webpage. They will use programs like Figma to build assets and plug-ins that make it easier for other Web Developers to make their designs as seamless and accessible as possible.
Design Directors: One of the most significant advantages of Figma is how seamlessly it allows teams to work together on their designs. Its design director is an essential role in any web design project. These directors will oversee the teams of Web Designers and Web Developers who will bring a project from inception to completion. Most Design Directors will need to know how to design layouts with Figma and oversee teams of engineers coding those same designs.
Figma is one of the most popular user-interface design tools on the market, and it is an excellent skill to learn for anyone aiming to work as part of a web design team. As a browser-based system, Figma lets users collaborate on designs in real-time, making it an ideal tool for building user interfaces with other designers. Figma lets users build vector graphic assets, add functionality such as scrolling and animation to webpages, and allows users to make working prototypes to show to clients and investors.
Learning Figma will help Web Designers optimize their designs for different audiences and platforms. Since the system uses vector graphics, the assets are easily resized, meaning users can test them on many different screens. Learning Figma is an ideal way to set one up for a future career in web design and UI/UX design because it is a versatile tool for letting groups of creatives work together to design webpages. These designs are easily shared, altered, and prototyped, meaning that they will leave the designers' hands in an optional place for developers to turn those designs into a reality.
Read more about why you should learn Figma.
Aspiring Web Designers looking to learn Figma may be unsure of their options for learning the program. There are many different training options available, and Noble’s Classes Near Me tool is an ideal place to start looking for in-person and online Figma classes.
The most immersive form of Figma training is through live instruction courses. These courses are available both in-person and online. Live training courses let students interact directly with experienced instructors who can guide them through the process of learning Figma for professional use. Some in-person classes are restricted to certain cities, but many providers have multiple campus locations.
For students who need more flexibility in their schedule, on-demand Figma courses can provide students with a helpful alternative. These courses are self-paced and let students dictate their schedules, which can be important for users with job or family obligations. These courses lack an instructor to answer questions and respond to concerns, making learning difficult for some students.
There are also numerous free tutorials and learning resources available for students hoping to learn the basics of the Figma app. Noble offers students a recording of their Intro to Figma seminar, alongside several other introductory tutorials, on the Web Development and Design playlist on their official YouTube channel. Noble also collects articles and resources on their Figma Learn Hub.
Read the full guide on how to learn Figma.
Free tutorials might be a good place to start for students who want to learn Figma but are unsure if they want to jump right into a professional training course. These free tutorials are an ideal place to start learning the basics of the application. Still, they can’t replace professional training for users aspiring to work as Web Designers.
Noble offers a few free seminars that can be useful for Figma students. Noble provides an Intro to Figma recording and an Intro to UI Design course on their seminars page. Noble also provides students with a course that offers an overview seminar detailing the differences between Figma and the other major web design platforms, Sketch and Adobe XD. These tutorials may benefit students who want to learn more about web design but are unfamiliar with these programs. Figma also provides users with many free resources to explore and experiment with on their website. Some of these may seem initially overwhelming, but they are good tools for exploring the platform's capabilities.
Read about more free Figma videos and online tutorials.
Figma is a relatively beginner-friendly program for beginning Web Designers to learn. This is because the program is easily accessible, the tools are straightforward, and Figma offers users a limited free version of the software without a built-in time limit. These two factors mean that students will have plenty of opportunities to experiment with Figma and take advantage of free tutorials as they learn the program's basics.
The free trial is limited in its functionality in the number of files that free trial users can work on at once and the number of editors that can work on any given design. Once teams get large enough to expand the number of people or workboards operating at any given time, subscriptions for teams, organizations, and schools are available.
There are no formal prerequisites to learning Figma, though users note that experience with other graphic design software like Photoshop and Illustrator can help significantly speed up the learning process. However, even students with no prior design experience can boot up Figma and start experimenting with the program in only a few hours.
Read about how difficult it is to learn Figma.
When entering the field of web design, new users should be aware that there isn’t a single dominant program within the field. To address this, Noble provides students with an overview seminar detailing the differences between Figma and the other major web design platforms, Sketch and Adobe XD.
Figma has a few advantages over its competitors. First, because it is entirely browser-based and built for collaboration, Figma lets teams of users interact more directly with each other than they could on a Creative Cloud program like Adobe XD. Second, the massive community of Figma users has created a sizable archive of the already existing material that can help teams of designers optimize both their projects and their workflow. Finally, on a practical level, Figma offers users a much more expansive trial version of the program, letting new users get accustomed to the program more efficiently.
For students who are interested in looking for more information on other programs, Noble’s Adobe XD Learn Hub can help them get a better grasp of that program.
Given that there are many different ways to learn Figma, students may have difficulty deciding which of these programs is best for them. One of the most significant differences between the various programs is the level of Figma training they provide and the skills they focus on. Students who know what they want to use Figma for can more easily select the right course, and unsure students will likely benefit from a beginner’s course.
For students who are unsure how much Figma training they will need or who know that they only need to learn the basics of the program at the current moment, free tutorials are available to help them grasp the application. Noble’s Intro to Figma, for instance, will give students a basic understanding of the fundamental features of Figma, providing them with the tools they will need to succeed in their further training.
Some students may wish to learn Figma professionally but don’t have a specific career field in mind. These students can build their Figma skills through a course like Noble’s Figma Bootcamp. Courses like this will give students in-depth knowledge of the advanced features of Figma and its powerful collaboration tools. This course is ideal for students who want to grow their career skills, add another line to their resume, or complement other pre-existing skills with Figma knowledge.
Students who want to master Figma to enter a new career may wish to enroll in a professional certificate program that pairs Figma training with other specialized career training. Noble’s career certificate programs can teach users how to pair Figma training with user experience design, front end web development, or graphic design. These career-focused training courses provide students with one-on-one career mentoring and let students build a professional sample portfolio as they work on exercises modeled after real-life projects.
Noble Desktop offers students a wide range of options for learning how to master web design using Figma. Figma courses are available both in-person at Noble’s Manhattan campus and online from the comfort of your home. Experienced instructors teach these courses, and even the online courses have small class sizes that allow students to receive focused attention to their learning needs in real-time. Almost all of Noble’s courses come with tech support, with in-person learners using in-house computers and distance learners receiving set-up assistance to ensure everyone is on the same page. Plus, these courses come with the option for a free retake within one year. During this retake, students can refine their skills, make up the work they missed, or simply gain some extra practice with Figma.
Students looking to learn the intricacies of Figma may consider enrolling in Noble’s Figma Bootcamp. This course will teach students how to build web designs using Figma independently and as part of a collaborative team. Students will learn the basics of the program, such as how to create and resize vector illustrations, optimize their designs for different-sized screens, and export their designs for prototyping or demonstration. Then, students will collaborate on advanced designs, including features such as hovers, scrolling elements, or web assets. At the end of the course, students will know how to use Figma to build professional quality web designs.
For students looking to strike out into a new career as a Web Designer, Noble offers many professional training options for students hoping to learn Figma. The UX & UI Design Certificate program teaches students in-depth user experience design practices, allowing them to test and research user behavior to make informed decisions about the interfaces they are designing in Figma. This assures that their webpages will be more accessible and easy to navigate.
Noble’s Web Development Certificate program teaches students the technical side of webpage design. After learning how to build a layout in Figma, students will learn how to use HTML/CSS, Flex, Bootstrap, and JavaScript to turn that design into a functioning webpage or user interface. More creatively oriented students may look towards Noble’s Digital Design Certificate program. This course, aimed at aspiring Graphic Designers, will teach students how to build assets for web interfaces using Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign, before teaching them how to import those designs into Figma to serve as templates or plug-ins for later use.
Regardless of why a student wants to learn Figma, Noble has a course offering that fits their needs.