So, I’m a freelance developer (there are quite a lot of people like me).
And usually I work with ready-made designs that the client gives me. And I make it. But now, Figma wants me to do more than just buy and inspect. But also to add the design to my team folder. So in effect, I have to duplicate the design from the designer in my team folder. Why?
You want to fill your discs with duplicates faster? I don’t see the logic. I’m not a team. I don’t need this. I have six designers I know. They don’t just work freelance with me and more than one client. Are you suggesting a designer create a huge team for 100+ different clients/developers?
Who should pay? The designer? The client? The developer?
I don’t mind paying separately. Access to design features is paid by the designer, access to development tools is paid by the developer. Why we need a team, I don’t know these people and I don’t care.
Just think about it. Designer pays a subscription, developer pays a subscription. But then comes a client who has to unite these two people into a team and also pays for 3 people. Just 5 payments for the same features.
And only for the sake of the developer not to duplicate each time the project in his team folder, because he does not care which designer drew it, he just needs to inspect.
This has always been an issue for freelance designers, now it’s also an issue for freelance developers. I see nothing here to be confused about, just Figma not really caring about improving their tools for this specific market.
The duplicate and move workflow you described should work perfectly fine though. Just a couple extra mouse clicks but not that big of a deal in my view.
The only downside to duplication is that you can’t see the new changes if the designer has made them.
I don’t really see anything complicated here. Paid users should not have restrictions to interact with projects outside the team folder.
Let’s look at a few examples:
You are a full-service agency and you have a team, you register the team and pay for your performers in the agency you work in your folder and close the full cycle from design to development. Everything is ok here.
Option you are a design agency. You do not do the development and pass the layout to other agencies. Already at this stage begins the question, who should pay? You as an agency pay a subscription for your team of designers. And the development agency pays its own subscription. And there is also a client, which frankly speaking does not make sense to pay for the combination of these two first responsible for the entire cycle. This is not a concern of the client to buy, because I do not force him to pay for CRM, and products for project management.
Freelance designer and freelance developer. Each pays separately. But they are not a team, nevertheless, before the exit from beta we had the opportunity to collaborate. Now we are forced into teams, I don’t see the logic here.
It’s very simple, if you are a freelance designer and you share a project with a freelance developer where both have a subscription, they should have no restrictions. If you add a user to the team who has their own subscription you shouldn’t have to pay for them again. To what? Just money?
I don’t think Figma is only focused on full cycle teams.