Nearly three weeks after it was introduced at Figma Config 2025, I finally got access to Figma Make. It is in beta and Figma made sure we all know. So I will say upfront that it’s a bit unfair to do an official review. However, many of the tools in my AI prompt-to-code shootout article are also in beta.
Since this review is fairly visual, I made a video as well that summarizes the points in this article pretty well.
While chat is powerful, for most products chatting with the underlying LLM should be more of a debug interface – a fallback mode – and not the primary UX.
I agree. Pike breaks down the various non-chat UIs in his post.
How LLMs are making traditional apps feel broken.
There has been an explosion of AI-powered prompt-to-code tools within the last year. The space began with full-on integrated development environments (IDEs) like Cursor and Windsurf. These enabled developers to use leverage AI assistants right inside their coding apps. Then came a tools like v0, Lovable, and Replit, where users could prompt screens into existence at first, and before long, entire applications.
A couple weeks ago, I decided to test out as many of these tools as I could. My aim was to find the app that would combine AI assistance, design capabilities, and the ability to use an organization’s coded design system.
While my previous essay was about the future of product design, this article will dive deep into a head-to-head between all eight apps that I tried. I recorded the screen as I did my testing, so I’ve put together a video as well, in case you didn’t want to read this.
As a longtime Apple fanboy, it's a little hard for me to appreciate the visual design of Windows—Microsoft is a nemesis, if you will. But I will tip my hat to the design practitioners there who've made the company finally pay attention to design.
Side note, reminds me of a story about what Steve Jobs once told me when I was designing the welcome animation for Mac OS X.
At the turn of the millennium, the widespread adoption of Microsoft Windows was a pivotal moment in technology. It played a crucial role in the integration of personal computers into both business and home environments. Windows introduced features that revolutionized network management and enhanced support for mobile computing, paving the way for the modern, connected workplace. Harold Gomez, Jeremy Knudsen, and Kim Sealls are three designers at Microsoft who have contributed to Windows design since 2000 and witnessed its design evolution. From the iconic Windows XP to the sleek Windows 11, Windows has constantly evolved to reflect the changing needs and preferences of users worldwide. In this roundtable discussion, we delve into the remarkable journey of Windows design.
I was sitting on a barstool next to my wife in a packed restaurant in Little Italy. We were the lone Kansas City Chiefs supporters in a nest full of hipster Philadelphia Eagles fans. After Jon Batiste finished his fantastic rendition of the national anthem, and the teams took the field for kickoff, I noticed something. The scorebug—the broadcast industry’s term for the lower-third or chyron graphic at the bottom of the screen—was different, and in a good way.
I posted about it seven minutes into the first quarter, saying I appreciated “the minimalistic lower-thirds for this Super Bowl broadcast.” It was indeed refreshing, a break from the over-the-top 3D-animated sparkling. I thought the graphics were clear and utilitarian while being exquisitely-designed. They weren’t distracting from the action. As with any good interface design, this new scorebug kept the focus on the players and the game, not itself. I also thought they were a long-delayed response to Apple’s Friday Night Baseball scorebug.
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Trends are common in visual design. Here’s how I think about them. Visual design trends go through a life-cycle: A trend is introduced The trend becomes widely recognised The trend becomes popular The trend is used so much it reaches saturation People start to criticise the trend People actively avo
We have redefined the foundational layers of Linear’s application with a full redesign. This is the second post in a two-part series where we dive into why and how we redesigned the application. In part one, we shared why redesigns are important. In part two, we introduce you to the new UI and cover how we tackled the project — no infinite-loop processes, workshops, or sticky notes were involved.
Apple finally launched its Vision Pro “spatial computing” device in early February. We immediately saw TikTok memes of influencers being ridiculous. I wrote about my hope for the Apple Vision Pro back in June 2023, when it was first announced. When preorders opened for Vision Pro in January, I told myself I wouldn’t buy it. I couldn’t justify the $3,500 price tag. Out of morbid curiosity, I would lurk in the AVP subreddits to live vicariously through those who did take the plunge.
After about a month of reading all the positives from users about the device, I impulsively bought an Apple Vision Pro. I placed my order online at noon and picked it up just two hours later at an Apple Store near me.
Many great articles and YouTube videos have already been produced, so this post won’t be a top-to-bottom review of the Apple Vision Pro. Instead, I’ll try to frame it from my standpoint as someone who has designed user experiences for VR.
iPhone design guidelines for UI elements, typography, navigation, design patterns, and more · Downloadable resources · iPhone Figma template
You might remember Gawker as an aughts-era blog with all the visual hallmarks of that moment’s web design trends: bright logo, white background, infinite scroll. If you were to visit Gawker today, you might not recognize it at all. Relaunched in 2021 by BDG, the digital conglomerate that started in
When trying to understand how cities work – how they develop over time and how their social lives have come into existence – urbanists often look at infrastructure. Looking closely at the roads, railways, sewers, electricity lines and rivers that run through a place can often uncover some essential
Another year, another UI trend is becoming increasingly popular among designers. Do you know it yet?
This post was originally published on Bow & Arrow from PJA (my employer) on February 3, 2011.
The New York Times recently published an article about how apps and web services are enabling consumers to customize how they read their online content. From apps like Flipboard and Pulse to services like Readability and Instapaper, users are increasingly demanding to consume content whenever, wherever and however they want.
When Apple introduced the iPad a year ago, many print publishers saw it as a panacea for their dwindling readership. By creating digital editions, they hoped to recapture some of the eyeballs lost to aggregators and RSS feeds. One of the pioneering publication apps was the WIRED Magazine iPad app. Because of its novelty, its debut issue sold 73,000 digital copies in nine days, almost as much as on newsstands. There is a clear desire from users to read magazines on their tablets.
What that first generation of attempts miss though, is they are trying to replicate 20th century print experience on a 21st century device. The magazine apps feel very one way. But the iPad is an Internet-connected device and users on the Internet demand more interactive experiences. They want to copy and paste passages to put on their blogs. They want to share articles via Facebook and Twitter. Using Adobe’s Digital Magazine Solution, Condé Nast is starting to address some of these issues.
