Skip to main content

A unique Figma Design usage

  • July 17, 2026
  • 4 replies
  • 53 views
Caroline Campbell

I am a physical product designer who is newly developing a design workflow system for my team on Figma. We previously use Google slides because our work is very visual based. the flexible commenting and image placement was very valuable. But, Figma will help us better organize and track a products conception and development, and why some didn't make the cut. 

 

Let me be clear, these Figma design resources will never become actual user sites or interfaces, they are simply being used as a method of internal organization and record keeping for the design process. But, it also needs to have a presentable element for meetings for team feedback on designs in addition to the overall design development. I also have no prior Figma experience. I apologize for my poor explanations. 

 

After watching the Figma Design for beginners 2025 course on Youtube, I have determined using components to create cards for the different elements in the design process is best. Card examples include: Collection origin, design genesis, design expansion, dimension development, design prototyping, design sampling. Some collections are vast and take months of development where some are small and only have a few final items, therefore components acting as building blocks make it ultra customizable depending on the collection at hand. I suspect it will flow left to right in collection development with offshoots up and down for dimension development or design expansion on specific concepts. 

 

Then per google Geminis suggestion I can create a section that is my high level line up with a trailer component with a linking button to the design development of that product if needed. (this is how to provide that presentation element described above but I am unsure if these buttons or linking works just within the whiteboard as it grows.

 

What I am noticing overall about components is you have to double click a million times to edit the text box you actually want which is kind of annoying... This is a challenge I am facing. I am also struggling with autolayout. But the reason I am contacting this forum is this:

 

By my understanding of components, you cannot add layers to child components. But given our previous Google Sheets workflow, specific components need some kind of functional workspace for image collection - collage building, if you will. Just like a google slides sheet. Is there some way of accomplishing this to include those images in the layers accordingly?

 

Google Gemini has suggested image components, variables, and slots and I am struggling with all suggestions. 

 

Maybe this is just a matter of changing team workflow overall, but I am curious if there are any workarounds or alternative solutions. 

 

I know this is a lot of material but I wanted to provide as much context as possible in case any experts have better methods for what I am trying to accomplish or resources to consult with. 

 

Thanks again!!

4 replies

Jaycee Lewis
Figmate

Hey ​@Caroline Campbell 👋 Thanks for the questions.

Sounds like your goal is to replace your Google Slides workflow with a structured system in Figma: card-style components for each stage of your process (collection origin, design expansion, dimension development, prototyping, sampling), plus a high-level rollup view you can use for team presentations. Does that sound right?

Have you looked into Slots yet? It's designed specifically for what you're describing — a flexible area inside a component instance where you can freely drop in and arrange content, including images, without detaching the instance. Here's the doc: Use slots to build flexible components in Figma

For slots: Available in Figma Design on all plans + Anyone with can edit access to a design file can add slots to components.

Want a quick step-by-step example of setting up a card component with a slot for images? — Jaycee

 

Caroline Campbell

Hello Jaycee, ​@Jaycee Lewis 

After reviewing the video, yes this does seem like a valuable solution but I am confused because I would like it to use images not instances. Would you be able to demonstrate using with images? Ideally we can add text blurbs too. :)

Similarly I think slots would be a nice way to organize the overall content in this design development recording strategy, potentially over auto layout. what do you think?

I truly appreciate your assistance.
 

Caroline Campbell

One other thing since I have you… I am really struggling with autolayout. 

I create a card with a text blurb and an image frame below. I want the card to grow in height and stay the same in width when there is a lot of text added. I also want that when I grab the bottom edge of the frame and lengthen down, the image frame joins. 

I get everything laid out, then I use autolayout and that solves the first problem with the text, but then I drag down the frame and what was working before with constraints settings I had (top and bottom) are no longer working. When I go to adjust them this is what happens. 

I am confused. Maybe you are confused? Maybe you understand? I am unsure.

 

he

Jaycee Lewis
Figmate

Hey hey ​@Caroline Campbell 👋 

Images in slots: Yes — slots aren't limited to instances. You can add any layer type inside a slot, including raw images and text. So a card with a slot as its "collage" area lets you freely drop in images and text blurbs and rearrange them, no detaching needed. That's your Google Slides workspace, basically.

Two things to know: inside an instance you can move/add/delete slot content freely, but the slot's position, auto layout direction, and constraints are edited from the main component, not the instance. And component properties can't be applied to layers inside a slot (doesn't affect a plain image+text collage). Doc: https://help.figma.com/hc/en-us/articles/38231200344599-Use-slots-to-build-flexible-components-in-Figma

Slots vs. auto layout: not either/or — they pair. Slot = flexible content container; auto layout = how that content stacks and spaces. Card = auto layout, with a text area + image slot inside.

Auto layout resizing (your struggle): This is the classic gotcha, not your fault. Once a frame is auto layout, top/bottom constraints stop driving position — auto layout's Fixed/Hug/Fill settings take over. That's why your constraints "stopped working."

The crux: a frame's height is either Hug or Fixed, not both — and you wanted both.

  • Hug = auto-grows with content, but you can't drag the height (dragging flips it to Fixed).
  • Fixed = holds the height you drag to, but won't auto-grow with more text.

For "grows taller with text, same width, image stays below," you want Hug and let it grow on its own:

  • Card (parent): vertical, Width = Fixed, Height = Hug
  • Text blurb: Width = Fill, Height = Hug
  • Image frame: Width = Fill (or Fixed), Height = Fixed

One “gotcha” to look out for: if a child is set to Fill on an axis, the parent stops hugging on that axis. So keep Fill on width only, let the card Hug vertically. Help center doc

If you share a non-zoomed screen recording showing the resizing misbehave (with the right sidebar visible), I can take a look. Have a great day! — Jaycee

Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement