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Lesson 1 of 3 · 5 min

Account, plan, browser or app

You can start designing in Figma in less than a minute and without paying anything. The only real choices at the beginning are which plan you need and where you want to work, and both are easier than they look.

One tool for the whole process

Figma is a design tool that lives in the cloud. You can work alone or with a whole team on the same file at the same time, a bit like a shared document, and move from the first idea to the prototype without changing tool.

No tool makes you a good designer on its own. What Figma gives you is time and attention for what matters: the people who will use your product, clarity, solving problems.

The free plan is enough to start

Go to figma.com and sign up with an email or a Google account. When Figma asks how you will use it, choose the Starter plan. It is free, it has no time limit and it includes:

  • Design and prototypesall the core tools you need to learn
  • Draftsunlimited, for your own experiments
  • Team filesup to three, with up to three pages each
  • Historyversions of the last 30 days

The paid plans, Professional, Organization and Enterprise, add unlimited files, shared libraries, Dev Mode and more control for big teams. Figma changes its plans often, so check the current details on its site. If you are a student or a teacher, you can get Professional for free through Figma for Education.

Browser or desktop app

Design and prototyping work the same in both. The desktop app gives you fewer distractions, native shortcuts and, above all, the fonts installed on your computer.

In the browser you only get Google Fonts. The fonts installed on your computer appear when you install Font installer, or straight away in the desktop app.

If you prefer the browser, install Font installer from figma.com/downloads and your local fonts will appear there too. One more thing from experience: some browsers, Safari in particular, can lose keyboard shortcuts in FigJam. The app avoids the problem.

Try it

  1. Create your free account on figma.com and pick the Starter plan.
  2. Download the desktop app, or install Font installer if you want to stay in the browser.
  3. Open a new Design file and look for a font you have on your computer in the text panel.

Remember

  • The Starter plan is free and enough to learn everything in the book.
  • Browser and app design the same way, the app adds local fonts and focus.
  • Font installer brings your local fonts into the browser.
  • Students and teachers can get Professional for free.