How to Learn Figma

Figma is a browser-based user experience design tool that lets users work with one another to build prototype designs of webpages that they can optimize for any device. Figma is an ideal tool to learn for aspiring Web Designers, as it is both a powerful tool and has a massive library of plug-ins, add-ons, and templates to help optimize workflow and improve designs. The number of options for learning Figma might be overwhelming at first glance. There are books, video tutorials, classes, and more to choose from; it all depends on your learning style and personal preferences.

Here, we’ll discuss the various methods of learning Figma so you can decide how you’d like to get started.

What is 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.

What Can You Do with Figma?

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.

In-Person Figma Training

Students looking for Figma instruction may find themselves drawn to the idea of in-person training. These courses allow students to interact directly with both their instructors and their colleagues, and they allow instructors to address concerns and help students. As a bonus, most in-person training courses will provide students with the hardware and software they need to practice Figma.

The drawback to these courses is that they are often the most restrictive regarding when and where they are offered. Even service providers that have campuses in many cities will still have limited class sizes and require students to commute to their location. Noble’s in-person courses, for example, are taught only in Manhattan, so while they are ideal for NYC residents and students in northern New Jersey and south-eastern Pennsylvania who can commute, they are inaccessible to many students.

Noble offers a Classes Near Me tool to help prospective students find and compare the in-person Figma training courses in their area.

Live Online Figma Training

Students who don’t live near an in-person training center or want to look for other live instruction alternatives may want to consider live online training. These training courses mirror the instruction provided by in-person instructions, with expert teachers who can give students feedback and respond to concerns in real-time. They also have the advantage of being available to students across the country rather than restricted to courses in a student’s area. These courses have the drawback of placing more responsibility on the students, who will need to provide their technology and maintain their workstations.

Noble Desktop offers many live online Figma course options for students hoping to learn web design. Noble offers focused courses on Figma's functionalities and more career-focused training seminars on subjects such as graphic design or web development. These training courses offer students the opportunity to get career-focused training in a wide range of fields to build a new career and improve their long-term career options.

Free Online Courses & Tutorials

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.

On-Demand Figma Classes

For some students, the strict-time commitment associated with a live Figma training course may restrict their options. These students may be interested in enrolling in an asynchronous on-demand Figma class. These courses let students control the pace of their instruction, either speeding up or slowing down as the need arises. They also let students who need to take a break from their training as other life events arise. The drawback is that these courses require students to self-motivate and will require students to do their own troubleshooting when problems arise.

There are various options available for students to explore, and these courses can be found and compared through Noble’s On-Demand Figma search tool. Some on-demand courses are available through platform subscriptions, while others are self-contained and can be purchased individually. Some are pre-recorded lectures, while others take the form of individual modules and exercises. Regardless of the format, these classes are well-suited for students whose learning needs make live instruction options less viable.

Which Learning Method is Right for Me?

Since there are so many different training options available for Fimga learners, students may be interested in knowing how they differ to find the option that is right for them. In-person, live online, and on-demand courses each have unique strengths and weaknesses, and the right course for any student will depend on several factors.

In-person training is the most direct form of training, and students often find it the most effective way to learn. Classrooms are built to minimize outside distractions, and live instructors can answer questions immediately and efficiently. These courses also often provide students with the necessary hardware and software to learn. Plus, they are excellent networking opportunities. The major drawback is that they are the most limited training option. These programs are locked into certain times and limited by their location; you can only attend an in-person course at a campus you can physically reach.

Live online training addresses some of these issues by letting students learn from anywhere, even if they are on the other side of the country (though time zones may become an issue). They also maintain all of the advantages of live instruction, as online instructors can provide feedback and assistance as quickly as in-person instructors. The drawback to these courses is that they require students to maintain their learning environment, both in terms of avoiding distractions and acquiring learning materials. However, this is less of a problem with a browser-based program like Figma that has a robust, free version.

On-demand courses carry the advantage of not being locked into a specific time frame. Live courses will require regular attendance, which can be unmanageable for students with job or family obligations. On-demand courses let students learn at their own pace rather than at the pace set for them by their instructors; students can pause their learning more effectively in the short-term (pausing a video) or the long-term (taking a week off). The downside is that students may find it too easy to pause for long periods, allowing their skills to become rusty. Additionally, students won’t have live instructors to troubleshoot problems that arise, so they must be self-motivated to find answers to tricky questions that an instructor could quickly address.

Why Learn Figma?

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.

Level of Difficulty, Prerequisites, & Cost

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.

Learn Figma with Hands-on Training at Noble Desktop

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.

Key Insights

• Figma is a versatile user-experience design tool that lets users build webpage and mobile interface prototypes for testing and production. Using vector graphic illustrations, creatives can optimize these designs for many different devices.
• Many Figma training resources are available, and students can learn the program in-person and online through live instruction or on-demand courses.
• Free resources are plentiful for Figma through professional channels like Noble and user communities.
• Figma is a straightforward program to learn, and learning how to use Figma can significantly expand the career opportunities of aspiring Web Designers.
• No matter how a student opts to learn Figma, Noble Desktop is there to provide them with the training and resources they need to succeed.