Design Thursday is back! There have been a lot of updates over the past few months, here are the most important ones you might have missed.

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Figma Config

2 weeks ago Figma's yearly Config conference took place. They announces UI3 a redesign of the Figma interface, AI features, an improved Dev Mode and Slides, a Figma slide deck creator.

The UI refresh is rolling out gradually in beta, you can sign up using the (?) icon in the bottom right and click "Join U3 + AI waitlist". The Dev Mode updates are already available and Slides is now in beta for free for the rest of the year.

You can also watch the recordings of all Config sessions on Youtube.

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‍Framer

Framer released a lot of performance and usability improvements. The latest big new feature is Forms, which can now be built natively in Framer and be received via email, Google Sheets or webhooks.

View all Framer updates

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Sketch

Sketch reached their big v100 update that includes scroll areas, hover, press and toggle effects in prototypes, a brand new command bar, a Canvas Minimap to navigate large files easier and plenty of Sketch Web improvements.

View all new features

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Rive

A lot of smaller improvements have been added in Rive but a big one is Audio Events which allows you to add sound clips in your animations for extra delight. Rive comes with a built in audio library, but you can also use your own files.

Check all Rive updates

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Webflow

Where to start with the Webflow updates, let's just list them, because there are a lot.

  • Code Block element
  • Custom CSS properties
  • Figma to Webflow App
  • Redesigned Layout panel
  • Localization improvements
  • Page templates
  • AI Learning Assistant to become a Webflow pro
  • Component Slots

There's even more so go to Webflow's release notes to see all updates.

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FlutterFlow

Another tool with a lot of update, here are the most important design-related ones:

  • New animation effects: Shimmer, Tint, and Flip
  • New color picker
  • Test on local devices with Local Run for faster testing
  • Walkthroughs: automatically create an interactive walkthrough of your app
  • Drag & Drop widget
  • Custom map markers
  • Adaptive icon support for Android
  • Notification badge count: show how many notifications a user has received
  • Use variables for animations, gradients, charts
  • Text style animations

View all FlutterFlow updates

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What's new in other tools?

  • Spline: 3D paths easily create 3D objects from vectors that are also animatable
  • Stark: Automatically monitor Figma files, Sidekick v2, WCAG conformance level settings for reports and annotation updates to better document the accessibility of your designs.
  • Useberry: Randomization to reduce bias
  • Maze: New Screener and Variant Comparison blocks, to screen potential users before they do your test. The variant comparison block can be used to test multiple design versions at once.
  • Play: Figma Import (without using any plugins, just copy+paste), SF Symbol effects, system fonts and colors, templates and the coolest one: App Clips. Share your prototype via an App Clip so users, colleagues or clients don't have to install anything to test your fully native prototype.
  • LottieFiles: Matte & Mask support, AI prompt to vector, Motion Copilot, gradient support, nested scenes, trim paths and kinetic typography
  • Adobe: Adobe Firefly now has a brand new v3 image model and you can use existing images as style or structure reference.
  • Mobbin: Copy to Figma with the Figma plugin, Flow videos, a new library to keep track of everything you saved and comments to discuss certain screens or elements with your team.
  • Penpot: Penpot released their big 2.0 update including a UI redesign, CCS grid, export to HTML, a new component system and swap components.