Dive Club 🤿 Vincent van der Meuelen - The story of Figma’s big AI pivot
Jul 11, 2024
Design engineer Vincent van der Meulen shares Figma's visual search pivot story, highlighting the importance of visual search in AI tools. He discusses the challenges faced, the transition to a software engineer role, prototyping, communication, and the future role of design engineers in the AI age. The episode gives insights into identifying opportunities, collaborating with machine learning experts, and the transformative power of feedback.
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Autocomplete Complexity
- The initial autocomplete project proved too complex, highlighting the spatial challenge in design tools.
- Realizing the search functionality's potential became a pivotal moment, simplifying the project.
Uber Prototype
- At Uber, Vincent and Christian Rao prototyped an image-based design finder.
- This early exploration, presented at Figma Schema, foreshadowed Figma's visual search.
Cowboy Coding
- Show, don't just tell: Build functional prototypes to demonstrate the value of your ideas.
- Vincent's video showcasing visual search proved more effective than a written proposal.