Issue no.12: New roles, new rules
With faster iteration cycles and AI tools helping people stretch further up the stack, more product builders are reinventing their roles.
Share Issue no.12: New roles, new rules
Illustrations by Saehan Parc
See: PMs spinning up prototypes, developers editing designs, and designers generating fully coded mocks. And when roles shift, so do the rules of engagement. Here’s how teams and individuals are reshaping workflows to reflect a changing reality.
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Shifting roles
To put some numbers behind the trend, we partnered with independent research firms to study how roles are changing across a wide range of functions. We found that 64% of product builders identify with two or more roles, and 56% of non-designers handle design-related work. Dig into how roles are expanding and the new ways we’re managing time.
Making it happen
Sometimes, words fail us. That was certainly the case when Figma Product Designer Natasha Tenggoro tried to explain how video playback should work in Figma Buzz. So, she decided to just build it herself with Figma Make. Here are the prototypes Natasha spun up to get her team to three “aha” moments—plus, how she prompted them.
Getting into a groove
In Figma Draw, designers control the gap, wiggle, and jitter of brush strokes just like musicians tweak the tempo, texture, and volume of songs. In fact, music was—ahem—instrumental to how we designed the new scatter brushes. Here’s how the team brought Honky-tonk, Screamo, and eight other musical genres to the canvas.
Balancing the equation
Think Duolingo, and you think languages. The company’s Math team, however, is doing the calculus to change that—and changing how they handle handoff in the process. The design and engineering teams behind the app’s math games take shared principles like “show don’t tell” and “v1 vs. MVP” to heart. In practice, it gives them momentum to riff and reinvent.
Rabbit hole
1. It’s not just internal teams that are changing. Here’s how creative agencies are rewriting the client playbook To take creativity to new heights, agencies and freelancers are breaking down traditional boundaries and using tools like Figma to partner with their clients every step of the way.
In good company: How agencies are transforming client collaboration
2. If you’re enlisting AI agents for code output, first consider how design systems can better the input Paired with MCP servers, design systems become a productivity coefficient for AI-powered workflows, ensuring that AI agents produce output that’s relevant and on brand.
Design systems and AI: Why MCP servers are the unlock
3. ICYMI: We extended a citywide invite to our Wall Street block party on the day we went public. From New York slices to limited-edition swag, here’s how it went On July 31, a huge Figma banner covered the New York Stock Exchange building with a message that read “Design is everyone’s business.” As Figma stepped into its next chapter, we wanted to celebrate in a way that kept that idea front and center.
The anatomy of an activation: How Figma Commons brought design to the public
The last word
