Using Figma plugins can significantly enhance your design workflow. These plugins allow you to add custom features and tools to Figma, making your design process more efficient and tailored to your needs. In this article, we’ll explore how to add and use Figma plugins to create custom workflows. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced designer, learning to use these plugins will help you optimize your UI/UX design projects and boost your productivity.

What are Plugins in Figma?

Plugins in Figma are programs or applications that help increase the functionalities of the design and scale things to a larger extent. They help in better designing & provide with certain features that help increase the user interaction of a website. They come in handy while designing and are important to use. In this article, we will be discussing 10 essential plugins one may require while designing on Figma.

Using Plugins for Custom Workflow

Here you will see how to use plugins to create something.

Unsplash (Image Generator Plugin)

Unsplash Plugin is used to generate images for the frame and can be used to add background or simple images in a container. It provides us with a search bar option to search for our desired image.

Unsplash Plugin

Adding Image from Unsplash.

Different images for prompt – Wallpaper

Image added.

Background

Remove BG (Background Remover Plugin)

Step 1: Select an image of Moon from Unsplash Plugin & add it to the frame.

Moon Image

Adding Image on top of the frame.

Add moon to Frame

Step 2: Now run the plugin Remove BG for the image of Moon.

Remove BG Plugin

Step 3: This plugin involves creating a free API Key from it’s website and after using the credits in that API Key, one can remove the background from the image.

Remove BG Popup

Step 4: Log in to your google account on the website or create a new account and generate an API Key using the plus symbol in the button of “New API Key” and name your API key.

Generate API Key

Adding API Key

New API Key

Step 5: Add the API Key in the popup box on Figma and run the plugin to get a removed Background image. Here, the black background of the moon’s image is removed.

Final Image

Iconify (Icon Generator Plugin)

Iconify helps generate icons that can be used on our Figma design file.

Iconify

Here, we have selected an icon from solar and added to contrast it with the moon. You can set the properties according to your wish such as the color, height etc.

Icon

Adding Icon.

Iconify Icon

Deck (Design to Powerpoint Presentation generate)

We can also convert the design file into a presentation view using the plugin Deck.

Deck Plugin

Run the plugin to get the design in a .ppt format & export it to save on your local storage.

PPT Generator

Mockuuups Studio (Mockup Image Generator Plugin)

We can use the plugin Mockuuups Studio to get the design on tablet, mobile phone & laptop and check it’s visibility. Choose a frame and run this plugin for it and you will get multiple images for selection.

Plugin

For this design, we will be choosing a mockup for laptop and here’s the final image.

Mockup for Laptop

Locofy Lightning (Code generator for designs Plugin)

We can convert our entire designs into a form of code, be t in react.js, react native, HTML, CSS etc. Here’s what all options Locofy provides us with.

Locofy Lightning

Select the option of Sync, export or deploy code and you’ll get the code in your desired language.

Code of Design

Table Creator (Table Generation Plugin)

This plugin allows creation of components that are in a usable format to create rows, cells & columns of desired number.

Table Creator Plugin

It helps us create the following components that can be further used in making a table.

Row & Column Components

Creating a Table.

Table Created

Lorem Ipsum (Dummy Text Generator Plugin)

The Lorem Ipsum Plugin helps us generate dummy text according to the specified length of sentences, or number of words. There is also an option of Auto Generate that helps to generate the text according to the size of container.

Lorem Ipsum Plugin

Adding sentences.

Auto Generate

Lorem Ipsum Text.

Final Design

SPELL (Grammar Checker Plugin)

For the specified text about Lion with a few spelling mistakes, SPELL will allow a grammatical correction of the text and refine it.

Spell Plugin

This plugin involves using a license key that is sent to your entered email ID, and then you can use it for text generation.

License Key

Now run the plugin and you will get options to accept the mistake or ignore it like this:

Grammar Checker

When all the spellings are rectified, you’ll receive this message, meaning the paragraph is grammatically correct now.

SPELL Document Checker

Get Waves (Design Element Generator Plugin)

Many a times, we require some designing elements, such as simple dots, waves or lines in our design to make it look more creative. Get Waves provides us with the image of waves in different forms that help scale the creativity of the design.

Get Waves Plugin

You can choose from the varied properties and change them accordingly during wave generation.

Wave Properties

At last, you can add this wave in your design file and can also change it’s color. Here we have used a gradient color for the wave:

Wave

Importance of Plugins

As highlighted through the above screenshots, plugins come in handy while designing and are used due to many reasons. Here is why the plugin feature is essential in Figma.

• It helps generate dummy text in a minute which could otherwise not be possible and we would still have to write it. It is essential in wireframes, since we do not require proper text & can place the container with a dummy piece of text.
• Many a times, we require conversion of the design to presentations, or pdfs and plugins allow us to do so. They help convert the design into any wishful format.
• They help in generating images, be it from specific sites, or AI Generated images that help uplift the design features.
• In the realms of design & development, plugins are very important as they allow us to completely convert the design into code. Normally using Figma gives us the option of inspecting over every element and getting it’s code but plugin escalates this feature by providing us with the entire development code, be it, in react.js, HTML, CSS etc.

Conclusion

Plugins are essential tools in Figma and they are extremely important to create high fidelity prototype designing. Learning to use plugins is an integral part of the designing arena as it involves multiple innovation creations & designing that help uplift the scale of ingenuity & creativity.