Realvjy
I can’t recall the exact date, but it was sometime back in 2016. I didn’t even have a MacBook yet. I was just beginning to explore UI design and looking for a Sketch alternative.
Up until then, I’d done all my UI work in Photoshop. I even finished a couple of projects that way, back when “dedicated UI tools” weren’t really a thing. Then one day, I opened Figma in my browser for the first time.
It felt magical.
The feature set was basic—almost primitive—but the performance was stunning. And more than anything, the live, real-time collaboration felt like a glimpse of the future.
Later, I joined a company where the design workflow was… well, the 2016 standard: Sketch for files, Zeplin for handoff, InVision for prototypes, and a few other apps duct-taped together.
It worked—but it was messy. Files everywhere. Multiple tools. Endless syncing.
I pushed for Figma. One tool. Seamless collaboration. Easy access for everyone. Soon I was setting up Figma projects and entire team spaces for every company I worked with. I wrote about it in this post.
I'd spent thousands on Adobe over the years. Making a living using a product I hadn't even paid for yet felt… strange. But this was a different kind of company. From the very beginning, the team—Dylan, Colin, Rasmus—and the community advocates like Rogie, Miggi, and so many others—made you feel heard. I'd report a bug or share a suggestion and they listen and act on it quickly.
That kind of care makes you a believer.
Over time, Figma became my everything. Even as an illustrator at heart, I eventually moved all my illustration work into Figma. Slowly, the people around me did the same.
I've long lost count of the Figma projects I've created.
Somewhere along the journey, Figma reached out to me for some work—and then they featured my designs in their campaigns, including one that lit up Times Square. Seeing my work up there… it was one of the most surreal moments of my career. From opening a lonely browser tab in 2016 to seeing my designs on the biggest screen in the world—it was beyond anything I imagined. Read more
Figma
Years passed. The little browser-based tool became the industry standard. The company that started with a belief that design could be collaborative grew into something none of us saw coming.
Today, as Figma goes public, I can't help but think back to that first moment in 2016—me, on a dusty old laptop, opening a browser tab that would change my career.
Figma didn't just change the way I work. It reshaped an entire industry. And today, I'm just grateful to have been part of the story.
Congratulations, Figma. Here’s to the next chapter. 🎉
