What's the one Figma feature, plugin, or workflow trick that completely transformed your design process?

Hey Brock, great question. I had a very similar feeling after my first couple of years with Figma, and a few small shifts completely changed how I work.

The biggest game-changer for me wasn’t a single plugin, but leaning hard into Auto Layout + component properties together, and treating them as logic, not layout.

A few specific things that made a real difference:

1. Auto Layout as behavior, not spacing
Once I stopped using Auto Layout just to “align things” and started using it to define how components respond (hug, fill, fixed), a lot of manual resizing disappeared. Buttons, cards, and list items became reusable in real layouts instead of fragile mockups.

2. Component properties instead of variants explosion
Using boolean + text properties (e.g. “Show icon”, “Label”, “Disabled”) reduced massive variant sets. It made components easier for teammates to use and harder to misuse, especially in shared files.

3. Variables for real-world states
Variables weren’t obvious to me at first, but using them for things like spacing tokens, color modes, and simple states (default / hover / disabled) helped bridge the gap between design and dev much better than static styles.

4. Plugin combo: Content Reel + native styles/components
Not flashy, but pairing real-ish content with properly set components exposed layout issues early. It saved time that I used to spend fixing edge cases late in the process.

5. Small workflow habit: design in “messy” frames first
I now sketch flows quickly without worrying about perfect components, then convert only the stable patterns into components. This reduced premature system-building and made the design process feel lighter.

None of these are hidden features on their own, but using them together intentionally changed how scalable my files feel and how confidently others can work in them.

Curious to see what others share here - always feels like there’s another 10% of Figma that unlocks everything.

i appreciate your response have do you know something to design 3d Models or 2D Models? any official Software or app that helps? if yes please let me know

Hey Brock - glad it was helpful 🙂

For 2D and 3D work, it really depends on what you’re trying to design (UI assets, illustrations, game models, product visuals, etc.), but here are some solid, commonly used tools that pair well with a Figma-centric workflow:

For 2D design / illustration

• Figma – still great for UI, icons, and vector-based layouts

• Adobe Illustrator – more control for complex vector illustrations and icon systems

• Affinity Designer – a good Illustrator alternative if you prefer a one-time license

• Paint 3D – surprisingly useful for quick 2D → simple 3D shapes, basic edits, or fast concept visuals without a steep learning curve

For 3D modeling

• Blender – very powerful and free; great for everything from simple UI mockups to detailed 3D models (bit of a learning curve, but worth it)

• SketchUp – easier to pick up for architectural or simple product-style models

• Cinema 4D – commonly used in motion/design workflows if you’re doing more polished 3D visuals

• Spline – web-friendly 3D tool that works nicely alongside UI design for interactive scenes

A workflow I’ve seen work well is roughing things out in Figma or Paint 3D, then moving into Blender or another 3D tool once the idea is clear. It keeps things lightweight early and avoids over-engineering too soon.

If you’re curious, what kind of 2D or 3D work are you aiming for UI visuals, product mockups, games, or something else?