
Figma Platform - pestkranker
https://blog.figma.com/introducing-figmas-platform-ee681bf861e7
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no-privacy
Figma use the word "open" to describe some restrictive APIs in their wall
garden, which is disingenuous coming from programmers who know what "open"
really means.

Usually collaboration is done using a Git-like external version control tool
or just file syncing with Dropbox. Even Adobe Photoshop stores your data in
files that you can share as you like. Figma's collaborative approach is
certainly good UX, but on the whole a net-negative for the world if it catches
on.

If your code is stored exclusively on GitHub and can only be edited through
the UI then you are at GitHub's continued mercy to have access to your own
data. You lose it when your subscription expires or when GitHub thinks they no
longer like you. This is the general trend of software turning into services
and they are actually locking you in with your own data. But it is also a
challenge to provide seamless realtime collaboration on the same document if
sits in files rather than on the web. The best of both worlds would be a
software that has both the convenience and openness of individual files and
has seamless collaboration.

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scardine
It is a bad example because when you use git, your local copy is a full repo
with the whole history so it not like your code is lost forever if github
cancels your account.

~~~
kjsthree
It’s a good example because that’s what they’re saying. With GitHub you’re not
limited to editing through the web UI. With Figma you are. Something like
Figma backed by data you control would be fine.

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jpochtar
This is really amazing for the design tooling ecosystem. Sketch opened their
file format, but Figma's APIs are actually a pleasure to work with. It was
super easy for us to add a Figma importing to our design-to-React platform
(Pagedraw), so you can now your draw your React UIs with Figma and ship them
right to production.

disclaimer: I'm with [https://pagedraw.io/](https://pagedraw.io/), one of the
integrations mentioned in the post

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RandallBrown
A few years back when the Mac App Store launched, I put an app up there and
got a tweet from one of the future founders of Figma. I think he was in early
college, or even high school. We corresponded a bit and I followed him on
Twitter. Pretty interesting to see how much cool stuff he has done since then.

~~~
nbashaw
I remember that app :)

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jdhn
Figma’s really gunning at a Slack with this move, as Sketch’s plugin ecosystem
is a huge reason as to why it’s successful. (Edit: this doesn’t bring
extension support, but is definitely a step towards that goal)

For any other designers on HN, have you switched to Figma to Sketch, and if
so, why?

~~~
scrollaway
Not a designer myself, but at our company Sketch is not an option because
(afaik) Sketch files are not editable on anything else than macOS. So Figma it
is.

~~~
zawerf
I was really impressed (but initially skeptical) when I saw that their webapp
is built with C++ and compiled for the web. Pretty cool to see their
crossplatform efforts paid off:

[https://blog.figma.com/building-a-professional-design-
tool-o...](https://blog.figma.com/building-a-professional-design-tool-on-the-
web-6332ed4f1fcc)

~~~
scrollaway
Woah, emscripten in production. Yeah, color me impressed as well.

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pestkranker
Product homepage: [https://www.figma.com/](https://www.figma.com/)

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SkyMarshal
I wish submissions announcing something new like this included something in
the title to just say what it is.

