Figma’s collaboration software market has a current annual growth rate of 6.21%. It’s not hard to see why. The collaborative design tool has helped writers, developers, designers, and product managers make efficient design decisions, test designs, and share ideas among teams.
A slight issue with Figma’s previous version was that when you shrank a design element, like a Blog Postcard, the tags got cut off because the element could not wrap into two lines. The new update includes the ”Wrap” option in Figma’s Auto Layout section.
With the Figma Auto Layout Wrap feature, the content now moves to the next row. Designers can also use the Min/Max (Width and Height) feature to prevent a compromise on content quality due to shrinking.
Whether you’re already using Figma or are planning to make the switch, this feature is a game-changer for designers. Let’s learn more about it.
What is Figma Auto Layout?
Figma Auto Layout is a property for adding design components and frames. You can use it to create dynamic designs that will shrink or grow to fit the frame as its contents change. Figma Auto Layout is a good option in projects where designers have to write long text strings to add new layers.
Some ways to use Auto Layout include:
- Creating size-changing buttons that expand or shrink as the text labels are edited
- Building adaptable lists that change when you remove, hide, or add an item
- Combining Auto Layout frames
Importance of Figma Auto Layout
Following UI design principles is an integral part of developing SaaS applications, but the limitations of a design tool can often hinder the process. Figma Auto Layout is one way to resolve alignment issues in the design product.
Previously, the designer would have to manually adjust the elements every time they made a change in the design. Think of how the whole MS Word document misaligns if you add an image or any other element. You then have to manually adjust every element back to its original position. The process can be super tedious and time-consuming.
The same used to happen in Figma too. But the Auto Layout feature has eliminated the need for manual adjustments. You can maintain consistent alignment through the design and even multiple screens in your project.
The feature reduces repetitive tasks and streamlines the design process. Taking away the extra manual toll gives designers more time to focus on creativity-driven design tasks. For example, they can brainstorm better ideas or get user feedback to improve their designs accordingly.
How Figma Auto Layout helps designers
Nowadays, you don’t design something for only one screen. Let’s take the example of a brand website. Customers will open it not only on their computers but also on mobile phones and tablets.
Therefore, the design must be responsive enough for different orientations and screen sizes. Auto Layout facilitates this by allowing designers to create apps, websites, and designs that fit different device sizes.
Auto Layout also simplifies the design process by managing the relationship between elements automatically. For example, you can use it for text baseline alignment.
When you combine text with an object, like an icon or a button, you can place layers with varying heights vertically centered. The […] menu in Figma Auto Layout lets you set text baseline alignments so that the text is always right underneath or beside the icon, irrespective of the screen the user is viewing.
Auto Layout also facilitates iteration and collaboration among design or project management teams. The change a designer makes to a component reflects across all screens. It helps keep everyone on the same page.
Most importantly, Figma Auto Layout components help designers create dynamic prototypes. When users input or change data in these components, the designs change accordingly, improving user interaction.
What is Figma Auto Layout Wrap?
“Wrap” is a new feature in Figma Auto Layout that wraps elements to the following line when they don’t fit the designated space. For example, if you write text in Figma Auto Layout columns, the Wrap feature allows the text to keep going on the following line rather than getting cut off.
The Figma Auto Layout Wrap is a helpful feature for creating responsive layouts with different content lengths. It is mainly used in designs that need to be organized in a certain way for aesthetic or functional appeal.
Why it’s a big step in Figma
Designers had been asking Figma to release this feature in the platform’s community forums. It’s a significant development in the tool, as it enhances design responsiveness and flexibility. It also lets designers change their content without excessive manual adjustments.
Before this feature was released, designers had to deal with content overflow manually. One, it was time-consuming since they had to make extra changes with every design evolution. Two, it was inefficient because it took too much manual intervention.
Manual adjustments are also error-prone. If a project requires too many changes, designers may overlook some errors.
Why it’s a game-changer for UI designers
Did you know repetitive tasks can kill innovation and productivity in an organization? Since designers and design-related organizations thrive on innovation and creativity, they cannot afford to waste time on menial tasks.
UI designers can now use Figma Auto Layout advanced features to make adjustments they were previously making manually. Now, they don’t have to spend much of their day on element positioning or content overflow management. Instead, they can simply use the wrap feature.
It’s 2023. Any software or tool that lacks interactivity and responsiveness is bound to stay behind the competition. Figma’s Wrap-Auto Layout prevents this by letting designers create adaptive designs.
Suppose a designer has to create an image gallery for a client’s newsletter. The client’s customers use tablets, phones, laptops, and desktop computers to access online content.
Thanks to Wrap-Auto Layout, the designer doesn’t have to create multiple layouts or artboards. Instead, they can use the wrap feature to tailor the same design for different screen sizes and orientations.
They can also make the user interface more dynamic by adding image transitions or animations. The wrap feature would ensure the end users have the same experience on different platforms.
How Figma’s Wrap-Auto Layout will affect the designer’s work
The new Wrap-Auto Layout feature will allow for accurate design representation since Figma will show the design’s responsive behavior. Developers can see how their products will appear in different scenarios.
Secondly, the feature reduces manual calculations and guesswork. You no longer have to assume or mentally visualize how the design will look when the content overflows. You can now see it right in front of you. Apart from minimizing room for error, it also saves developers time.
Here are some other ways the Wrap-Auto Layout will assist designers:
- Faster development: As already mentioned, manual adjustments are painstakingly slow. The wrap feature saves time, speeding up the development cycle.
- Smoother handoffs: The UI designer-to-developer handoff becomes seamless with Wrap-Auto Layout, as the designer can adjust the layout to fit the development team’s requirements.
- Fewer edge cases: An edge case is an issue that arises only at a specific operating parameter. For example, users may encounter a bug only when they operate software under a particular condition. The Wrap-Auto Layout feature can prevent this by letting designers see how the design will respond to different content lengths.
- Better collaboration: The wrap feature creates a consistent experience for everyone involved in the design process. It makes collaboration easier and faster, reducing the amount of back-and-forth conversations.
- Code integrations: Some code generation plugins and tools can integrate with the Auto Layout features in Figma. The compatibility allows wrapping behavior to translate to code seamlessly. Plus, it improves collaboration between the design and development teams.
Using Wrap-Auto Layout at VeryCreatives
As VeryCreatives, we use almost every feature in the Figma Auto Layout Center. We believe in incorporating every new feature to give our clients the best results.
Ever since Figma announced the new feature, we have been experimenting with it to determine where and how we can use it. Our main focus was integrating it into bigger projects, often slowed down due to excessive manual work.
We found Wrap-Auto Layout to be most useful in the component design phase. Before this feature came out, we had to set up the elements manually. Now, the wrapping tool automatically sets the components into the frame, saving us a ton of time.
All we have to do is set the elements to the correct proportions in one layout. The wrapping tool adapts the exact proportions and alignments to different devices and screen orientations.
We also plan to use the feature for client presentations. Instead of creating different versions of the same design to fit different devices, we can present the same design with Wrap-Auto Layout. It will help our clients see how their product will finally look on the end users’ screens.
Unleash the potential of Wrap-Auto Layout for SaaS design projects
At VeryCreatives, our Figma journey has been an exciting and successful one. We use the tool to design products people love and encourage others to switch.
The best thing about Figma is the platform’s commitment to innovation. Since Figma always strives to be better than the competition, it is our go-to design tool for SaaS product design.
We understand not everyone has the same level of Figma proficiency as we have, which is why we are keen to use our knowledge and experience to help SaaS entrepreneurs. Get in touch today to learn what we can do for your SaaS product.
