UX/UI Best Practices on Figma and Dev handoff process
UX/UI has not only gained terrain in the dev world due to its importance in user experience, but also because of how it facilitates co-creating design and code.
User Experience (UX) and User Interface (UI) design play a pivotal role in creating successful products and services.
In summary, UX/UI design is no longer just about aesthetics. It’s about solving problems, enhancing usability, building trust, and creating delightful experiences that drive success in today’s highly competitive, user-centric market.
It lowers development process cost!
Figma as the chosen tool for UX/UI.
Figma is entirely cloud-based, allowing real-time collaboration. Multiple team members can work on the same file simultaneously.
Figma streamlines the developer handoff process. Developers can inspect designs, copy CSS code, download assets, and get measurements directly from Figma.
The “Inspect” panel provides detailed specs, and the integration with handoff tools like Zeplin or even built-in features makes it easy for developers to transition designs into code.
It has integrations with a variety of third-party tools like Slack, Jira, and Trello, improving the workflow between design, development, and project management.
Check here if you want to learn more about it.
1. Consistent Design Systems
- Use shared libraries in Figma to maintain a cohesive design system. This includes buttons, icons, typography, and spacing guidelines.
- Create reusable components to ensure consistency across all screens and make changes easier during the design or development phase.
2. Clear Layer Naming & Organization
- Organize Figma files with clear naming conventions for frames, components, and layers (e.g., buttons/primary/default).
- Use auto layout and grouping features to keep elements aligned and responsive.
- Ensure that frames and components are well-organized into folders (e.g., “Components,” “Screens,” “Assets”).
- Documentation for clear migrations and guidelines to follow.
3. Use of Grids and Constraints
- Design using grids and constraints for responsive behavior. This helps developers translate designs to code, especially when the UI will adapt to multiple screen sizes.
- Define and use consistent margins, paddings, and spacings that reflect real development constraints.
4. Exporting Assets
- Ensure all exportable assets (icons, illustrations) are available in correct formats and resolutions (e.g., SVG for icons).
- Use Figma’s export features to provide developers with assets optimized for the web, mobile, or other platforms.
Dev Handoff Process
Programming is advancing at an incredible pace, with new processes and languages constantly being developed to automate workflows and streamline code, making everything faster and more efficient.
As a result, the gap between UX/UI designers and developers is narrowing. Designers are increasingly aware of the challenges developers face when bringing designs to life.
Hence, as best practices in design, we strive to maintain shared environments to ensure proper documentation is provided to the dev team. This allows for a smooth, clean, and well-organized transition, ensuring that designs are implemented as intended without unnecessary friction.
Here’s a guide to all the practices currently used in the market.
Design files (e.g., Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD):
Designers share the original design files, giving developers access to inspect layers, dimensions, and assets directly from the design tool. Platforms like Figma make real-time collaboration and inspection easy for developers.
Style guides (colors, typography, spacing, etc.):
A well-documented style guide outlines the visual standards for the product, including color palettes, typography scales, spacing, and grid systems. These are often included in the design file or shared as separate documentation.
Interactive prototypes, if applicable:
Prototypes allow developers to visualize and interact with the intended user flow. Tools like Figma or InVision can provide clickable prototypes to communicate functionality and transitions effectively.
Detailed component specifications (annotations for interactions and behaviors):
Designers annotate specific components to explain their behavior, such as hover states, click actions, or animations. This helps developers understand how each element should behave across different scenarios.
Responsive design breakpoints:
Design files often include guidelines for how the layout and components should adjust at various screen sizes. These breakpoints are clearly documented to help developers implement responsive designs seamlessly.
Optimized assets (icons, images, etc.):
Designers provide optimized assets in the correct formats and resolutions (e.g., SVG for icons, compressed images for the web), ensuring they are ready for implementation without the need for further adjustments.
Design tokens (colors, fonts, and spacing variables, if used):
If design tokens are being used, they are shared with the development team to ensure consistent use of colors, typography, and spacing across code and design. These tokens are often included in the style guide or documented in collaboration platforms like Storybook.
UI animations (micro-interactions or transitions, if applicable):
Any animations or micro-interactions are described in detail, often using tools like After Effects or Lottie for more complex animations. Alternatively, simple transitions are annotated directly in the design file.
Accessibility guidelines (WCAG recommendations, color contrast, etc.):
Accessibility considerations, such as color contrast ratios or keyboard navigation, are highlighted to ensure that the product meets accessibility standards. Designers provide documentation to ensure that the implementation supports inclusivity.
User flows or journey maps, if relevant to implementation:
To give developers a clear understanding of the user’s path, user flows or journey maps can be included to illustrate how users move through the product. This helps developers align their work with the intended user experience.
When we work on handoff, UX/UI team focuses on connecting with developers in a human-centered way, where we can agree on the best practices that benefit both sides.
UX/UI goal? To assist developers in speeding up their tasks and implementation by using tools, methodologies, or a combination of both that provide precise and organized validation.
This ensures that the necessary data, code, styles, and functionalities are conveyed clearly, resulting in optimal work outcomes. Therefore, we collaborate closely with the development team and define the deliverables, which can include:
- Componentized style guide in Figma:
We use Atomic Design to maintain consistency across all designs. By breaking everything down to its smallest elements, we componentize atoms so that even the smallest change is reflected throughout the document. We deliver a library of atoms, molecules, and systems, which serves as a guide for coding the necessary elements in the correct language, with the appropriate values. - Interactive prototypes for each flow:
For every user journey, we create interaction points so developers can understand what happens at each click and screen. This includes the interaction, animation, movement, gesture, and behavior. Each prototype is clearly mapped to show how the user interacts with the product at every step. - Breakpoint-specific variables, if required by the project:
If the project demands, we provide the same design variables adapted to different breakpoints. This ensures that the design remains responsive and consistent across various screen sizes, clearly defining how components should behave at different resolutions. - Asset library:
We share a comprehensive library of assets, usually via Figma or whichever method the developer prefers, ensuring all SVGs or other required formats are available and ready for implementation. - Documentation based on the development library in use:
For example, if the team is using Material Design, we take care to document the essential modifications to the base library that reflect the client’s branding. This includes detailing changes such as adjusting Material Design buttons from a 5px border-radius to a 10px one, or other key elements that create significant differences. This documentation ensures that everything aligns with the brand while maintaining the core functionality of the design system.
By following these UX/UI practices, we make sure the handoff process is as efficient and seamless as possible, allowing developers to focus on building the product without unnecessary delays or confusion.