Figma is a user interface design tool. It is browser-based, allowing for direct collaboration among team members. An important aspect of receiving professional Figma training to set yourself up for a career change is learning what kinds of fields and industries that training will help you find work in. Each industry will have different requirements and expectations for prospective employees, and you should consider these expectations when you start your training. This is true for students who have an idea of what kind of work they want to do and for students who aren’t yet sure what path they want to take after learning Figma skills.

What is Figma?

Figma is a user interface design tool. Designers work on shared documents to build interactive webpage prototypes. Then, users can test these prototypes to ensure the designs meet all requirements. This makes Figma ideal for building complex and accessible webpages. 

Figma is also a vector graphics design tool, meaning all designs produced are resizable and replicable. This is important for optimizing layouts across devices and platforms. Since Figma prides itself on its collaborative community, there are many readily available plug-ins, templates, and widgets that make designing interfaces easier. 

Read more about what Figma is and why you should learn it.

What Can You Do with Figma Skills?

Figma lets users collaborate in real-time to build user interfaces. Using vector graphics design tools, teams create wireframe layouts that can be optimized across devices. They can add interactive elements such as scrolling and hovering functionalities to their designs, so their webpages look and feel modern. Figma lets designers produce working prototypes that users can test and give feedback on.

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. Every day, new Figma resources are being developed.

Common Industries That Use Figma

Figma is useful in any industry that involves interactive design. Naturally, it is widely employed in the tech industry by User Experience Designers and Front End Developers. Web Designers in any industry also make use of Figma in their work. Graphic Designers may also use Figma, depending on the context.

User Experience Design

User Experience (UX) Designers work primarily within the tech field, but other industries hire UX Designers as well. A UX Designer incorporates research on the user’s experience into the design of a website or app. UX Designers work with UX researchers or directly with users to determine the user need that the website or app can fulfill. They then create tools such as user personas and user journey maps to help them identify common types of users and how those users would experience the site or app. 

Next, using Figma or a similar program, they design wireframes, basic two-dimensional representations of the app’s design without color, fonts, or graphics. These allow the designers to explore its functionality without spending a lot of time on design specifics first. Next, they create prototypes of the app, which users then test. They make revisions to the design based on those tests and then send their designs to the developers for implementation.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the US economy will gain 45,400 UX design jobs over the years 2021-2031. 

Front End Developers

Front End Developers are responsible for the code that creates the user interface and visual look of a website. The contrasting career to a Front End Developer is a Back End Developer. Back End Developers are responsible for the internal structure and data of a website. Front End Developers need to be more aware of design factors and user experience than Back End Developers, which is what makes this career unique.

When a company, such as a tech company, employs a UX Designer, the Front End Developer works with the UX Designer to develop and implement the design. They may use the comment function of Figma to give feedback on the UX designer’s work without altering it themselves. However, some companies employ Front End Developers but have no UX Designers. In this case, the Front End Developer may be called upon to create the design themselves, which they may do in Figma or a similar program.

United States job growth for Front End Developers is projected at 23%, well above the 5% average growth across all careers, over the period 2021-2031. 

Web Designers

Web designers are responsible for crafting a website’s overall vision and plan. They determine the visual themes that will help the website serve its purpose and create a positive experience for visitors. These include its graphic, color scheme, typography, and layout. They have certain aspects of their work in common with UX Designers or Front End Developers, but Web Designer is a distinct career.

Unlike a User Experience Designer, a Web Designer works primarily from their own sense of design principles and website functionality rather than from user research and testing. They also do not necessarily code. They may code, or they may work with a Front End Developer to implement their designs. 

Over the years 2021-2031, the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts, 21,800 Web Designer jobs will be added to the United States economy annually.

Graphic Designers

Graphic Designers are distinct from the other professions on this list in that they are not necessarily in the tech field or working on websites or apps. They may create static designs for advertisements, posters, book or album covers, or a wide range of other possible contexts. However, they may also design logos or other elements to be used on websites. Some of these may be interactive and be shared in Figma.

Graphic Designers are responsible for the ideation and generation of visual art designs. They incorporate typography, colors, animations, print design, and photographs for an integrated visual presentation. They may use Figma or comparable programs within the Adobe Suite. Graphic design is not as much of a growing field as the others, but it is projected to add 6800 jobs between 2021 and 2031.

Learn Figma Skills with Noble Desktop

Noble Desktop holds Figma courses at their Manhattan campus and online. With small classes, students receive focused attention from experienced instructors in real-time.

Noble’s Figma Bootcamp teaches students to build professional-quality web designs using Figma. They create vector illustrations, optimize across devices, and export designs for prototyping.

Noble’s UX & UI Design Certificate program teaches students user experience design practices. They research user behavior to make informed decisions about their Figma interface designs.

Noble’s Web Development Certificate program teaches students the technical side of webpage design. Students use HTML/CSS and JavaScript to turn Figma designs into functioning user interfaces.

Key Takeaways

• Career fields that use Figma include:
• User Experience Designers
• Front End Developers
• Web Designers
• Graphic Designers
• You can receive comprehensive in-person or online training in Figma through Noble Desktop