devtools.fm: Developer Tools, Open Source, Software Development Kris Rasmussen - Figma
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Oct 14, 2024 Kris Rasmussen, CTO of Figma and a key player since its inception, discusses the evolution of Figma from a WebGL demo to a leading design hub. He shares insights on the challenges of scaling Figma like a game engine and the innovations driving collaboration. The conversation dives into Dev Mode, which enhances designer-developer collaboration, as well as the potential of AI and plugins to revolutionize workflows. Kris also highlights Figma's future strategies in AI deployment and how it aims to transform design processes.
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Early Fluid Simulation Demo
- Figma's co-founder Evan created an early demo, a WebGL fluid dynamic simulation with a ball, showing browser potential.
- This proof of concept inspired founders to pursue a professional design tool in the browser, a novel idea at the time.
Web Tech and Performance Strategy
- Figma bet early on web technologies to enable easy sharing via URL and collaboration.
- Performance challenges were overcome by changing problem structures, proving web apps can rival native tools.
Figma Is Web App Meets Game Engine
- Figma combines traditional web app challenges with game engine scale in front-end rendering and real-time collaboration.
- Files behave like eventually consistent distributed data stores, requiring high write throughput and distributed system reasoning.