For more than a decade, Figma has been one of the most widely used graphic design tools for UI/UX designers globally. Despite strong competition from Adobe XD, Figma continues to grow in popularity, gaining fans and dedicated followers all over the world.
In this post we will share with you some of the best tips for Figma beginners in 2023. But before diving into that, let’s highlight why Figma is an excellent solution for UI/UX graphic designers.
Why use Figma in 2023
- Auto-saving: Figma automatically saves your work, eliminating the worry of losing your progress.
- Cross-platform compatibility: Figma works seamlessly across different platforms. You can start designing in the web version, and continue in the desktop app.
- Free resources and templates: Figma’s community offers a wealth of free resources and templates. You can draw inspiration from other users’ works and incorporate their style into your own designs.
- Collaboration: Figma allows sharing your work and is therefore ideal for working with a team. It offers various roles and permissions, allowing efficient collaboration.
- Third-party integrations: Figma integrates well with popular applications like Slack, Asana, Trello, Dropbox, Confluence and others, enhancing your workflow and productivity.
- Efficient feedback management: Figma provides a productive way of managing feedback from your team. Anyone can click anywhere on the design to leave a comment (and assign it to someone else), eliminating the need for screenshots with arrows and comments.
- User-friendly interface: Figma is highly intuitive and easy to grasp. You will quickly get the hang of it, falling in love with the tool in no time.
That being said, when you first open Figma, don’t be surprised if you get overwhelmed by the abundance of buttons, actions and options. That’s why 2am.tech is here to help you conquer that learning curve by providing you with the must-know shortcuts for Figma beginners.
The following shortcuts are the most frequently used ones, and should prove to be highly useful for beginners.
Keep in mind that the examples given below are for the Windows version, but if you use Mac OS simply replace “CTRL'' key for “Command” key and “ALT'' key with “Option” key.
Must-Know Figma Shortcuts for Beginners:
Help & Resources (CTRL + SHIFT+?): This shortcut opens a list of all the shortcuts available in Figma, presented in an intuitive way.
Creating Shapes and Objects:
- R: Creates a Rectangle
- O: Creates an Oval or Ellipse
- L: Creates a Line
- T: Creates a Text
- F: Creates a Frame
Navigation:
- H: Activates the “hand” tool, allowing you to drag the canvas freely.
- SPACE: Offers a quick way to drag the canvas without changing the current selected tool.
- Z (hold): Allows you to zoom in on any area of the canvas effortlessly.
Elements interaction:
- CTRL+G: Creates a group when multiple elements are selected, enabling you to manipulate them as a single entity.
- I: Opens the color picker, allowing you to select any color from your canvas and set it as the main color of the object you have selected.
- ALT+H (for horizontal) and ALT+V (for vertical): align objects along a central axis.
Super “Copy paste” objects:
- Super Copy and Paste (CTRL + ALT + C): Copies properties of an object without modifying it.
- Paste to replace (CTRL + ALT + SHIFT + V): Replaces an existing object with a copied one.
These are the essential shortcuts for Figma that are likely most useful for beginners. We hope that they will enhance your productivity and efficiency while using this wonderful design application!
