Maintaining separate SVG layers for icons is crucial for design flexibility, color overrides, and animation capabilities, contrary to the common practice of flattening layers.
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Alice is a self-described "Figma janitor." She delights in building Figma components that drive like zippy little Miatas, and writing documentation that reads like someone actually gives a damn about consumers' needs.
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5.6Managing icon component sizes
2026-03-10 • design ui/ux design figma app icons
The post evaluates methods for managing icon sizes in design systems, advocating for size variant properties on individual icons to enhance user experience.
The post discusses various strategies for organizing components in Figma library files, highlighting the pros and cons of each method. It contrasts the 'All components on one page' approach, which offers complete control but can b...
The text discusses 10 uses for variables beyond light and dark mode, including validation styling, asset availability, breakpoints, brand promotions, subscription level, loyalty status, logged in/logged out, density, and contrast....
The text explains how to preserve directional icons' orientation when swapping them, highlighting the common mistake of applying rotation to the wrong layer when creating icon components. It provides a correct method for setting u...
The text provides a detailed guide on how to reduce memory usage in Figma files. It includes strategic instructions to tackle the problem, such as finding the highest concentration of layers, removing draft material, and eliminati...
The text discusses the drawbacks of combining icon components into a variant set, using arrows as an example. It highlights poor discoverability, increased file memory usage, and additional complexity for engineers as reasons to k...
The post discusses how to prevent icons from cracking when outlining strokes in Figma. It provides two solutions to the problem, one involving scaling up the icon before outlining and then scaling it back down, and the other invol...
The text discusses the three levels of collections for variables, namely primitive, semantic, and component. It provides a real-world analogy to understand these levels and emphasizes the importance of finding a naming system that...
The text discusses the importance of keeping file memory low in Figma. It explains how to use branches to reduce file memory and avoid memory issues. It also provides recommendations for naming and scoping branches.
The post discusses the importance of building working radio button sets in Figma libraries to save time and effort for consumers. It provides a detailed recipe for creating and using the radio button sets, as well as instructions ...
The text explains why the 'size' property of a Figma variant might not work when nested inside another component. It discusses issues with auto layout and differing component APIs, and suggests using number variables and modes ins...
The text explains how to add layers to instances of Figma components using component swapping, which allows for manipulation of instances in ways that overrides don’t support. It provides a step-by-step demonstration and discusses...
The text explains how to edit the width of nested components using zero-frames as resizers. It provides a step-by-step guide on creating a resizer and adding it to components, as well as when to use resizers and whether to compone...
The text discusses the challenges of learning auto layout in Figma, highlighting the lack of guidance and feedback, the need to apply auto layout to all frames, and the different types of 'wrinkles' that can occur. It also provide...
The text discusses 12 ways to make Figma components more delightful to use, focusing on the areas of usability, utility, functional integrity, visual design, and persuasiveness. It emphasizes the importance of thoughtful layer nam...
The text discusses the introduction of variants, component properties, and variables in Figma. It explains the advantages of using these features and when to use them. It also provides examples of when to use separate components f...
Base components were initially used in component libraries to systematize things like padding values. However, using base components in component libraries led to expensive and complex components. The author reflects on the challe...
The text explains how to customize the size of Figma embed iframes, particularly focusing on adjusting the height. It provides step-by-step instructions and tips for successful manipulation of the height, including wrapping the if...
The text discusses the use of placeholders in Figma to hold space for other components that will eventually replace them, reducing complexity and offering flexibility. It also covers best practices for building useful components w...
The text discusses the use of cursor chat trigger words and secret emotes in FigJam, a tool for designers to collaborate and receive feedback. The author shares their experience of using trigger words and finding over twenty of th...
The text discusses the use of emojis in Figma page names to communicate the status of work. The author argues that using emojis in page names is not the best way to communicate status and details three reasons why. The author also...
The text discusses the impact of 4 major announcements at Config 2023 on the author's previously published blog posts. The author reflects on how variables, wrapping auto layout, min and max width controls, and prototyping updates...
The text discusses whether library components should come with prototyping interactions. It explains that while the library's job is to reduce work for designers, not all interactions should be baked in at the library level. It pr...