Unlocking the Power of Figma Components: A Guide to Efficient Design Systems
Figma has revolutionized the way designers collaborate and work on projects. One of its most powerful features is the concept of components, which are reusable design elements that can greatly improve workflow efficiency and consistency across projects. In this article, we’ll explore how to harness the full potential of components and dive into advanced techniques such as nesting components.
What are Components?
Components are the building blocks of a design system. They can be created from individual elements within Figma, such as shapes, text, buttons, layouts, or a combination of these. A component consists of a main component, which defines its properties, and instances, which are copies of the main component used throughout your designs. Any updates made to the main component will automatically cascade down to its instances.
The Hierarchy of Components
Nested components are a more complex type of component that can be thought of as a hierarchy of elements. At the top level, you have the main component, such as a panel or card, which contains instances of other components within it, like buttons or form fields. This hierarchical structure allows for greater flexibility and customization.
Creating a Main Component
To create a main component, start by using the Frame tool to create a frame with auto layout. Add some placeholder text and set the horizontal resizing to Hug. Then, add styling to the frame, such as a corner radius, fill background color, stroke, and text color. To turn this frame into a component, select it and click the Create component set button from the top toolbar. This will create a main component with variants.
Creating a Nested Component
To add instances of an icon component into the main component, first, create the icon component separately. Use the Create component set button to turn the icons into variants of an icon component. Then, drag one of the icon variants into the main component while holding down Command ⌘ on Mac or Shift ⇧ on Windows. This will create an instance of the icon component within the main component.
Altering Nested Instances
Once you have nested instances within a main component, you’ll want to be able to alter them quickly and easily. One technique is to expose properties from nested instances in the main component properties. This allows you to swap variants of the icon without having to select the layer. Another technique is to create a Boolean property to toggle the visibility of the icon instance.
Slot Components: The Key to Customization
Slot components are placeholders within a main component that can be replaced with custom content. This gives designers the freedom to insert content without having to detach the instance from the main component. To create a slot component, add a frame filled with a distinct color and text in the center that tells designers it’s a placeholder. Then, create a variant of the slot component that is a simple line of text.
Instance Swap Properties: Swapping Components with Ease
To make it easier to swap out the slot for a different component, create an instance swap property that appears in the properties panel when the modal is selected. This allows designers to quickly choose instances that are commonly used. Alternatively, you can drag and drop components from the Assets panel to swap instances.
Conclusion
Figma components are the foundation of a robust design system. By leveraging nested components, slot components, and instance swap properties, you can create a design system that improves your efficiency and ensures that your designs provide a consistent, intuitive experience to your users.