Figma is a popular interface design app that allows designers to create reusable components. Components are key building blocks that enable consistency and efficiency in the design process. Here is a guide on how to fully utilize components when designing in Figma.
Table of Contents
What are Components
Components are elements that you can reuse across your designs in Figma. For example, buttons, icons, layout structures, navigation bars, etc. can all be made into components.
There are two aspects of a component:
- Main Component: This defines the properties and design of the component.
- Instance: This is a copy of the main component that you can reuse in your designs. Instances are linked to the main component.
Why Use Components
Here are some of the key benefits of using components in Figma:
- Consistency – Components enable you to maintain a consistent look and feel across your entire project.
- Efficiency – You don’t have to recreate elements from scratch every time. Just reuse component instances.
- Organization – Components allow you to organize your designs systematically.
- Updates – If you edit the main component, all instances get updated automatically.
Creating a Component
Creating a component is easy in Figma:
- Select one or more layers that you want to turn into a component.
- Click on the “Create Component” button in the toolbar (or use the keyboard shortcut Cmd/Ctrl + K).
- Give the component a meaningful name to keep your components organized.
- Click the “Create” button and your component is ready!
Using Components
Once you have a library of components, using them across your designs is simple:
Inserting Instances
- From Assets Panel: Drag and drop the component you want onto the canvas.
- From Search: Use the search bar to find components quickly.
- Copy/Paste: Copy/paste components from one file to another.
Modifying Instances
- Overrides: Make instance-specific changes like colors or text without affecting the main component.
- Detach: Break the link between an instance and main component so they are no longer synced.
Advanced Component Features
Figma offers powerful advanced features to take your components to the next level:
Variants
Variants allow you to store alternative versions of a component in one place. For example, create primary, secondary button variants that users can easily swap between.
Component Properties
Properties enable you to create dynamic, configurable components. For example, expose a color property to let users customize button colors.
Libraries
Share components across projects by publishing them to team libraries. This allows organization-wide design consistency.
Analytics
Use the built-in analytics to see how components are being used across your organization and identify adoption trends.
Best Practices
Follow these tips to get the most out of components:
- Name components clearly and organize them into categories to keep the assets panel clean.
- Reduce complexity by keeping related components together in one rather than overcomplicating your component architecture.
- Use auto-layout to make components flexible and responsive across device sizes.
- Detach judiciously – avoid detaching instances unless absolutely necessary to retain central control.
- Document thoroughly – add descriptions and usage guidelines to components so users know how and when to use them.
Conclusion
Components are an incredibly powerful tool in Figma for creating consistent, efficient, and organized designs. With some effort spent building a solid component library and making components easy to use for your team, components can save massive amounts of time and supercharge collaboration. Follow the tips outlined here to get the most out of components and take your Figma skills to the next level!
