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Figma: Introducing Vector Networks(medium.com)

almost 8 years ago from Athyuttam Reddy, Brown University

  • Evan Wallace, almost 8 years ago

    I wrote this post on the work I did at Figma developing "vector networks," Figma's replacement for paths. I would be interested to hear what you think, and I'm also happy to answer any questions.

    26 points
    • Colm TuiteColm Tuite, almost 8 years ago

      I think it's really great to see people pushing design tools in new directions. So many recent advances in design tools have been minor - just reduced UIs or slightly more powerful iterations of the same old features. It's refreshing to see a completely new take, especially with a solid implementation.

      Good work guys, keep it coming.

      9 points
      • Evan Wallace, almost 8 years ago

        Thanks! A big part of what drove me to start Figma was the opportunity to rethink how things work and to experiment with new ideas. There's lots more coming too, don't worry :)

        1 point
    • Toby ShorinToby Shorin, almost 8 years ago

      Wow, this is very cool. Looking at the example GIFs, I suddenly feel that this is the way we should have been interacting with paths all along. Can you say "killer feature"?! ... but Figma has so many killer features that it's nearly becoming the holy grail of design tools.

      I'll be really interested to test it out when I finally make it into the beta, but until then I have a tangential question about hotkeys. Well-thought out hotkeys are obviously a really important part of designing an efficient design tool, but since Figma is web-based, there will naturally be conflicts between browser shortcuts and Figma ones. What are you doing at Figma to mitigate this problem?

      8 points
    • Jonathan ShariatJonathan Shariat, almost 8 years ago

      This is awesome work.

      I love seeing the user experiences/needs driving the tool. Thats the way that feels natural and thus it makes the tool so much easier to use.

      1 point
    • Christian Sinding-Larsen, almost 8 years ago

      Looks very promising! I have been working with 3D tools like Rhino and Solid Works back in the day and I've felt 2D vector tools have a long way to go with these corner stone features. One thing I'm still missing from SW is the ability to make paths dependent on each other. Keeping an angle, orientation or distance (in % or fixed) is immensely useful. Consider looking into that, and you have a fan.

      0 points
    • Alexandre Miguel, almost 8 years ago

      Hi Evan, any chance to get an invite? I would love to test Figma. I have registered yesterday.

      0 points