A new chapter: Friends of Figma’s brand refresh tells the story of a global community
From São Paulo to Islamabad, Friends of Figma chapters around the world are distinct, vibrant, and locally rooted. Our new brand gives them a more authentic way to express themselves.
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What is Friends of Figma?
Friends of Figma is our official user group program for connecting, learning, and inspiring each other. There are now more than 250 chapters in 82 countries around the world. Just last year, there were over 900 Friends of Figma events ranging from workshops and webinars, to craft talks and watch parties, to casual group outings and happy hours.
Learn more about how to get involved or start your own group.
Great design happens when we feel connected—to our users, to our craft, and to each other. Just ask our community, who have been organizing global meetups since 2018 to do just that. In 2020, we launched the Friends of Figma program to amplify these efforts by selecting chapter leaders, supporting events, and offering sneak peeks. “Community changes lives,” says Rusmir Arnautoviċ, our chapter leader in Bosnia and Herzegovina. “Our events empower people, inspire better design, and even help some people find their calling.”
With AI driving so much change in the industry, it’s never been more important for us to come together. That’s why we’re announcing a new look and feel for Friends of Figma. As the program reaches more people and expands to more parts of the world, we wanted the brand to reflect the many voices in the tapestry of Figma’s story. Most importantly, we wanted to help our leaders do what they do best—build genuine, real-life connections in the places they call home. “Our community is unlike any other,” says Kimberlea (KB) Hunt, community experiences manager at Figma. “It’s filled with incredibly talented, thoughtful people who genuinely believe in the power of connection.”
A visual language that feels globally local
When it came to reimagining the Friends of Figma brand, we had two goals. First, the design system needed to feel distinct from Figma—but still distinctly Figma. Staying tied to the brand helps chapters attract new members and sponsors, which is especially important in places where there isn’t as strong of a design community. Second, it needed to be flexible enough for local chapters to make it their own, reflecting their city or region. “We wanted to create the feeling of a brand that’s connected through a shared spirit, not through shared outcomes,” says Figma Brand Designer Andy Pressman. “It’s a democratic design system at heart that is intended to be shared, owned, and driven by the chapters.”
It’s a democratic design system at heart that is intended to be shared, owned, and driven by the chapters.
With these goals in mind, we reimagined the Figma logomark, pulling apart the basic shapes and using them as building blocks in new compositions. Says Andy, “I wanted to show the basic shapes coming together like distinct chapters forming a shared community.”
From color guidelines, to chapter badges, to stickers, the Friends of Figma visual identity allows each chapter to customize the brand. “The idea was to set just enough constraints to unlock creativity,” says Andy. While everyone shares a core color system, for example, each chapter also picks six additional colors from a supplied palette. And while the new brand toolkit supplies minimal templates for stickers—useful to add graphic flair—what happens within those shapes is up to each chapter. At every turn, the system emphasizes the real people, places, and events that make up each community. Take the new photo guidelines, for example: “We wanted to approach things from the street level. What do you see walking around town that somebody in your neighborhood is going to understand and connect with?”
A series of readymade templates shows all of these elements can come together. “It’s tricky to create a consistent system that has no hard requirements,” says Andy. “You can look at these examples, and pull out any elements to mix and match.”
Bringing the brand to life around the world
Chapter leaders are already embracing the new brand—and putting their own spin on it. “We saw the new system as more than a visual update,” says Muhammad Iqbal, the Friends of Figma Islamabad leader. “It’s a chance to tell our story. Our community represents a new wave of designers in Pakistan who are building their own paths. For the first time, it feels like we’re not just following global design—we’re contributing to it in our own voice.”
We saw the new system as more than a visual update. It’s a chance to tell our story.
In many places, chapter leaders thought about what tied their communities together. Friends of Figma São Paulo Leader Marianna Piacesi grounded their brand in the city’s iconic sidewalk patterns designed by Mirthes Bernardes. “People walk over these geometric patterns without even realizing it, and that felt like the perfect metaphor for community: something that quietly connects everyone,” she says. By layering textures, bright colors, and urban street signs, she captured the city’s energy: “The result is a mix of structure and visual noise, an organized chaos that feels instantly recognizable and very true to São Paulo.” In New York City, Friends of Figma chapter leader May Zhou took inspiration from the city’s iconic subway system. “The MTA system is a big reference, especially its iconic line colors and the way it connects all the boroughs,” says May. “That idea of connectivity is something we want the chapter to reflect, too.”
Local traditions and heritage also found their way into chapter brands. Rusmir Arnautoviċ in Bosnia and Herzegovina chose colors that reflected the region’s mountains, rivers, and forests. He also used cultural touchstones like carpet patterns and Bosančica—a 10th-century script—in sticker designs. “These icons capture what Bosnia is known for: a heart-shaped country in Europe with over 1,400 years of history,” he says. Bruno Figueiredo and Salomé Reis, the chapter leaders for Friends of Figma Coimbra, worked with other groups across Portugal to create a brand that’s distinct, yet visually coherent with the rest of the region: “We continued to use Portuguese tile elements as stickers, and evolved them to have local significance: sardines for Lisbon, swallows for Porto, and bears for Coimbra.”
All over the world, we see that the new brand can help revitalize local communities by giving them a visual language that speaks volumes about who they are.
How to get involved
Joining a Friends of Figma chapter isn’t just about leveling up your skills or talking shop—though there’s plenty of that, too. It’s about the magic that happens when you spend time with people who share your passion and speak your language. “Being part of Friends of Figma is truly an incredible experience,” says Carolina Delgado, the chapter leader in Mexico City. “You get to meet amazing people and grow together, making design not just a profession, but a lifestyle.”
Whether you’re just starting out in your career or someone with decades of experience under your belt, there’s a Friends of Figma chapter ready to welcome you. Just take it from Marianna: “If you’re curious, you already belong.”
Ready to find your people? Join your local Friends of Figma chapter, or even start your own.
The Head of Community Programs and Experiences at Figma, Jordan Scott has over 10 years of experience building authentic brands and communities.
