YC
The Future Of Design With Figma's Dylan Field
@ Y Combinator
03/13/25
Takeaways
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Dylan Field
03/13/25
@ Y Combinator
As software becomes easier to build, design becomes more important, leading to an increase in the number of designers hired.
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Dylan Field
03/13/25
@ Y Combinator
Figma has always had a strong international user base, with over 80% of weekly active users being outside the United States.
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Dylan Field
03/13/25
@ Y Combinator
From the start, one-third of Figma's users have been designers, while two-thirds are non-designers, all contributing to the platform.
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Dylan Field
03/13/25
@ Y Combinator
AI is currently in the tool category, helping designers and developers do more and explore more in the design process.
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Dylan Field
03/13/25
@ Y Combinator
The goal is to lower the barrier for entry in design while also raising the ceiling on what can be achieved, allowing more people to participate in the design process.
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Dylan Field
03/13/25
@ Y Combinator
Founders are increasingly recognizing the importance of design, understanding its value beyond just functionality.
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Dylan Field
03/13/25
@ Y Combinator
The evolution of design models is ongoing, with both image diffusion models and code generation models playing significant roles in the future of design.
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Dylan Field
03/13/25
@ Y Combinator
Design is about problem-solving and requires a deep understanding of user needs, which current AI models struggle to replicate.
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Dylan Field
03/13/25
@ Y Combinator
The role of designers will become more critical in the future, as they will need to integrate their understanding of user experience with technical capabilities.
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Dylan Field
03/13/25
@ Y Combinator
The future of design will likely involve a blend of various interfaces, including chat-based, visual, and potentially even brain-computer interfaces.
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Dylan Field
03/13/25
@ Y Combinator
Custom-designed software tailored for individual users may emerge, but there are challenges in achieving this level of personalization effectively.
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Dylan Field
03/13/25
@ Y Combinator
The design of software should allow users to learn intuitively, as seen with Snapchat, where users can easily pick up the interface by observing others.
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Dylan Field
03/13/25
@ Y Combinator
There's a tradeoff in design between making interfaces easy to learn and maintaining advanced capabilities for experienced users, exemplified by games like Minecraft.
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Dylan Field
03/13/25
@ Y Combinator
When starting Figma, Evan and I focused on the technologies that were emerging, particularly drones and WebGL, to identify opportunities in design.
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Dylan Field
03/13/25
@ Y Combinator
Evan vetoed the idea of pursuing drones for Figma, believing that the regulatory challenges and hardware complexities would slow down our progress.
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Dylan Field
03/13/25
@ Y Combinator
We decided to focus on WebGL for Figma, as Evan had significant expertise in it, which led us to explore tools and software rather than gaming.
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Dylan Field
03/13/25
@ Y Combinator
Initially, we experimented with various ideas, including meme generation, which ultimately led us to realize that Figma's direction was not aligned with our goals.
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Dylan Field
03/13/25
@ Y Combinator
The first text rendering technology we developed for our meme generator ended up being reused in Figma, showcasing how early experiments can inform future products.
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Dylan Field
03/13/25
@ Y Combinator
As we developed Figma, we recognized that the design market was rapidly growing, contrary to our initial belief that it was small.
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Dylan Field
03/13/25
@ Y Combinator
We learned that using traditional VC thinking to gauge market size can be misleading; instead, we focused on user needs and market trends.
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Dylan Field
03/13/25
@ Y Combinator
Our early pitch for Figma was unfocused, but we were fortunate to have investors who believed in our potential to figure things out as we progressed.
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Dylan Field
03/13/25
@ Y Combinator
The process of creating software involves continuous iteration, from brainstorming to prototyping and shipping, which is essential for product development.
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Dylan Field
03/13/25
@ Y Combinator
Figma's development was driven by user behavior, especially during the pandemic, leading us to create new products like FigJam and Figma Slides.
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Dylan Field
03/13/25
@ Y Combinator
The initial version of Figma had a minimal feature set, but we focused on meeting essential needs before expanding functionality.
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Dylan Field
03/13/25
@ Y Combinator
Our first customers were minimalists who appreciated Figma's simplicity, while others were drawn to its cloud-first, high-performance capabilities.
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Dylan Field
03/13/25
@ Y Combinator
When we launched Figma's closed beta, it lacked multiplayer features, which were later developed and received positive feedback upon release.
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Dylan Field
03/13/25
@ Y Combinator
The design community reacted positively to Figma's launch, with users expressing excitement about its potential to change their careers and workflows.
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Dylan Field
03/13/25
@ Y Combinator
Figma's collaborative approach contrasts with traditional agency mindsets, emphasizing teamwork and iterative development over individual contributions.
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Dylan Field
03/13/25
@ Y Combinator
The design party we hosted became a great advertisement for Figma, showcasing what people could create together, even if they didn't know each other.
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Dylan Field
03/13/25
@ Y Combinator
Initially, Figma faced skepticism, but over time, it demonstrated its value and potential for collaboration among designers and engineers.
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Dylan Field
03/13/25
@ Y Combinator
Sometimes, it takes time to see results; it might take 18 to 24 months to develop a usable product, and persistence is key during that period.
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Dylan Field
03/13/25
@ Y Combinator
After receiving clear product-market feedback, I realized I should have hired faster to capitalize on the market's interest in our product.
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Dylan Field
03/13/25
@ Y Combinator
We actively dogfooded Figma internally, which helped us identify and fix user experience issues before launching to the public.
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Dylan Field
03/13/25
@ Y Combinator
Our design culture emphasizes collaboration and excellence, driven by a talented team that consistently seeks to improve the user experience.
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Dylan Field
03/13/25
@ Y Combinator
Maker Week at Figma encourages everyone in the company to contribute to improving the product, leading to many of our best features.
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Dylan Field
03/13/25
@ Y Combinator
As a founder, it's crucial to be self-aware and replace yourself with tasks that can be delegated, ensuring the organization can improve and grow.
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Dylan Field
03/13/25
@ Y Combinator
In today's fast-paced environment, founders should move quickly and avoid lengthy development cycles unless absolutely necessary.