Figma is currently the best and most popular design tool for interaction design. You’ll need to use it (or something similar) for high-fidelity prototypes.

Technical skills are NOT the best use of class time, since they go out of date so fast, but they are obviously an obstacle if you don’t have them, so here is a cheat sheet to learning Figma.

Working in tech, you will constantly be learning new tools, so practice learning how to learn…

🕵️ Explore the visible features — if a button got real estate, it’s probably useful!

📺 Read/watch the top tutorials — aka RTFM

👈 Play with existing files — it’s easier to analyze something good than start from scratch

1. Set up Figma

Go to figma.com and click “Get Started for Free”. (Starter accounts include 3 Figma and 3 FigJam files, unlimited drafts, and unlimited collaborators)

⭐️ Sign up with your SVA email address so I can find you ⭐️

Go to the Figma Downloads page and get

• the font installers so you can use non-system fonts
• the iPhone or Android app so you can review your designs on your phone 📲
• the desktop app if you prefer apps over web interfaces (they’re the same code)

2. Get a good overview of the interface

Note: Figma is rolling out a new UI as of June 2024, these may not be fully accurate anymore

Read the basic overview

https://help.figma.com/hc/en-us/articles/360040314193-Guide-to-prototyping-in-Figma

Watch these 6 videos (~55 min total at 1x) or read the text versions