Figma is a collaborative

web application A web application (or web app) is application software that is accessed using a web browser. Web applications are delivered on the World Wide Web to users with an active network connection. History In earlier computing models like client-serv ...

for

interface design User interface (UI) design or user interface engineering is the design of user interfaces for machines and software, such as computers, home appliances, mobile devices, and other electronic devices, with the focus on maximizing usability and t ...

, with additional offline features enabled by desktop applications for

macOS macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and lapt ...

and

Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for ser ...

. The feature set of Figma focuses on

user interface In the industrial design field of human–computer interaction, a user interface (UI) is the space where interactions between humans and machines occur. The goal of this interaction is to allow effective operation and control of the machine f ...

and user experience design, with an emphasis on real-time collaboration, utilising a variety of

vector graphics editor A vector graphics editor is a computer program that allows users to compose and edit vector graphics images interactively on a computer and save them in one of many popular vector graphics formats, such as EPS, PDF, WMF, SVG, or VML. Vector ...

and

prototyping A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and software programming. A prototype is generally used to ...

tools. The Figma mobile app for Android and

iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also include ...

allows viewing and interacting with Figma prototypes in real-time on mobile and tablet devices.

History

Dylan Field and Evan Wallace began working on Figma in 2012 while studying

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to practical disciplines (includi ...

at Brown University. Wallace studied graphics and was a Teacher Assistant for the Computer Science Department, while Field chaired the CS Departmental Undergraduate Group. The original objective behind Figma was to enable "anyone obe creative by creating free, simple, creative tools in a browser." Field and Wallace experimented with different ideas, including software for drones and a meme generator, before settling on web-based graphics editor software. The company's early scope was described in a 2012 article by ''

The Brown Daily Herald ''The Brown Daily Herald'' is the student newspaper of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Established in 1866 and published daily since 1891, The ''Herald'' is the second-oldest student newspaper among America's college dailies. I ...

'' vaguely as "a technology startup that will allow users to creatively express themselves online." That article reported that the company's first ideas revolved around 3D content generation, and subsequent ideas focused on photo editing and object segmentation. Field was named a Thiel Fellow in 2012, earning him $100,000 in exchange for taking a leave of absence from college. Wallace joined Field in California after completing his degree in computer science, and the two began working on the company full time. Figma started offering a free invite-only preview program on December 3, 2015. It saw its first public release on September 27, 2016. On October 22, 2019, Figma launched Figma Community, allowing designers to publish their work for others to view and adapt. On April 21, 2021, Figma launched a digital

whiteboarding Whiteboarding when used in the context of computing, is the placement of shared files on an on-screen shared notebook or whiteboard. Videoconferencing and data conferencing software often lets documents as on a physical whiteboard. Whiteboardi ...

capability called ''FigJam'', allowing users to collaborate with sticky notes, emojis and drawing tools. In June 2022,

Google for Education Google for Education is a service from Google that provides independently customizable versions of several Google products using a domain name provided by the customer. It features several Web applications with similar functionality to traditiona ...

announced that it would be partnering with Figma to bring its design and prototyping platform, as well as ''FigJam'', to education Chromebooks. On September 15, 2022, Adobe announced it had entered into an agreement to acquire Figma for about $20 billion in cash and stock, the company's largest acquisition to-date, with Field remaining as CEO. Members of the design community showed concerns for the future of the product—including potential or mandatory integration with

Adobe Creative Cloud Adobe Creative Cloud is a set of applications and services from Adobe Inc. that gives subscribers access to a collection of software used for graphic design, video editing, web development, photography, along with a set of mobile applications an ...

, or being forced to adopt business models otherwise unfavorable in comparison to those presently used by Figma. Adobe shares fell by 17% following the announcement. The proposed purchase has been criticized on antitrust grounds (in an attempt to supplant its own competing Adobe XD, which had begun to lose market share to Figma by 2021) and as being an overvaluation.

John Naughton John Naughton (born 18 July 1946) is an Irish academic, journalist and author. He is a senior research fellow in the Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities at Cambridge University, Director of the Press Fellowship Prog ...

went as far as comparing the purchase to

Facebook, Inc. Meta Platforms, Inc., (file no. 3835815) doing business as Meta and formerly named Facebook, Inc., and TheFacebook, Inc., is an American multinational technology conglomerate based in Menlo Park, California. The company owns Facebook, Instagra ...

's acquisition of

WhatsApp WhatsApp (also called WhatsApp Messenger) is an internationally available freeware, cross-platform, centralized instant messaging (IM) and voice-over-IP (VoIP) service owned by American company Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook). It allows use ...

in order to prevent it from growing into a competitor to its core businesses. On November 2, 2022, it was reported that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) had begun an investigation.

Funding

In June 2013, Figma raised $3.8 million in seed funding. In December 2015, the company raised $14 million in Series A funding. In February 2018, Figma raised $25 million in a Series B round. In February 2019, Figma raised $40 million in Series C funding. In April 2020, Figma raised $50 million in a Series D funding round. In June 2021, Figma raised $200 million in a Series E funding round. Figma was valued at more than $2 billion by April 2020 and $10 billion by the end of May 2021.

References

External links

*
Evan Wallace's Personal Website
{{Vector graphics editors Announced information technology acquisitions Cloud applications Collaborative software Vector graphics editors

History

Funding

See also

References

External links