Plug-in 101: A Designer’s Best Tool

Starting with a new tool can be challenging. When I began using Figma a year ago, I quickly realized that hard work isn’t always synonymous with smart work. One effective way to work smarter is by utilizing plugins. Over time, I’ve earned the nickname “plugin lord” from some of my friends (yes, really).

Rather than focusing on the definitions or general uses of plugins — topics that have been extensively covered elsewhere. Instead, I would give you must-have plugins you need in your creative toolbox as a designer. But before I proceed, I would like to place a bet. I’d like to bet you would learn of (at least) a new plug-in at the end of this article. If you take me up on my bet and by the end of the article you lose, you have to interact with this article (leave a clap or a comment. Want to bet?

For Illustrations, Design systems and other UI:

Maintaining consistency across your design interfaces can be a daunting task. By helping to automate repetitive design tasks, identifying the right illustrations to tie your projects together, and streamlining color palette creation, these plugins empower designers to focus on innovation and cut down the time spent on mundane tasks.

I. Blush:

Blush offers a versatile platform for creating custom illustrations, patterns & doodles. It lets you easily choose and personalize an avatar with a wide range of skin tones, hair colors, and facial expressions. It also has a randomized feature that adds an element of fun to the design process.

For an unrestricted use of Blush illustrations for both personal and commercial endeavors like advanced customization, SVG illustrations, and high-resolution downloads, consider upgrading your plan.

II. Illustrations by Hexorial studio :

With Illustrations, you get access to doodles, 3D illustrations by various users. The good thing about this plug-in is you can access these illustrations in packs, each pack all made by the same artist, to maintain a consistent style across your design.

III. Humaaans for Figma:

What makes this plug-in unique is how buildable the illustration is. You get vector parts of arms, legs, feet, and heads. This way, you can mix and match, like a Lego set. These illustrations are free, although you cannot edit the colors of the illustrations provided.

Maintaining design consistency across large-scale projects can be challenging. By automating repetitive tasks and providing advanced features, these plugins offer a game-changing approach to creating and managing style guides, revolutionizing the way designers work.

https://youtu.be/3lRaB6rlzv8

IV. Print Variables:

Manually compiling design system elements for a case study is an arduous and time-consuming process. Precious hours are wasted on repetitive tasks that could be spent on more productive work. With the print variables plug-in, this struggle becomes a thing of the past. This free tool efficiently organizes all your design system variables into a single file.

V. Design System Extractor:

Design System Extractor is a Figma plugin designed to expedite the creation of comprehensive design systems. When you run the Design system extractor, it analyzes your already existing variables like colour and font, and uses that to create a library of editable UI components like progress bars, button (in different varients), editable date & time modals, side, navigation bars, and so on. It is time saving and will help you improve the quality of your designs. It is free to use and does not require that you sign in.

VI. Foundation: Colour Generator:

This plugin is a valuable tool for designers seeking to create harmonious color palettes. By using established design systems, it simplifies the process of generating color variations. Users can input a base hex code and the plugin will efficiently produce a range of tints and shades, providing flexibility for achieving desired lightness or darkness levels within your designs.

VII. User Profile | Avatar:

I’m a big fan of this plugin for creating avatars. You can fine-tune your avatar by selecting age, hair color, photo dimensions, and even image quality. And if you’re feeling indecisive, let the plugin surprise you with a random avatar. Best of all, it’s completely free and no sign-up hassle.

VIII. LORE ( For Lorem ipsum):

Filing dummy texts into your designs can help in visualizing layout, testing typography, and accelerating the design process without relying on final content. With this plug-in, you can choose the length of your words, sentences, and paragraphs, as well as randomize the first words.

Automating repetitive design tasks, identifying the right illustrations to tie your projects together, and streamlining color palette creation using these plug-ins cut down the time spent on mundane tasks.

Plugins for Design Handoff:

The handoff process can be a design nightmare. Endless revisions, accessibility checks, and the dreaded back-and-forth with developers delay your project. But fear not! These plugins can help streamline the process, reduce errors, and ensure a smoother transition from design to development.

IX. Higherframer:

Perhaps you want to present a feature’s core concept without getting lost in the design details. Or maybe you’re refining an existing feature and need a clear starting point for further development. Convert your high-fidelity designs into clean, focused wireframes in seconds using this plugin. Simply select your screen, adjust the settings to your preference, and watch your wireframe come to life.

X. Stark:

Stark is a game-changer for building accessible digital products. It simplifies the process by integrating seamlessly into your design workflow. You can effortlessly check color contrast against WCAG 2.0 guidelines, visualize how your designs appear to users with different vision types, and ensure clear typography. Plus, it helps you craft effective alt text for images and even proactively identifies potential accessibility issues with its automated scanning feature. Stark turns accessibility from a challenge into a smooth part of your design process. Stark offers a range of features, some accessible for free and others requiring a paid subscription. While you can explore basic functionality without signing in, unlocking advanced tools and deeper insights requires you to create an account.

Conclusions are boring things, aren’t they? However, they are important. So, I’ve given you 10 plugins I use to make my work easier as a designer. I hope you enjoy them, and I hope you will be kind enough to suggest some plug-ins for me too in the comments. Also, remember my bet? Who won?.