Figma changing UI3 panels to not be floating seems like a good decision based on the beta feedback aka everyone hating on it

But did UI3 actually solve anything for the user? I cant honestly say i saw any improvements. What the editor needed was enhancements. What they shipped was a re-organization of elements.

cwodtke.medium.com/users-dont-hat… remembered @cwodtke's post on this topic

Users don’t hate change. They hate you.

The 9x Effect Applies to Redesigns Too

cwodtke.medium.com

@jedmund had some good insight on this while back as someone who has worked at Figma/worked with the teams there.. It was a good reminder to me how not everything is how it seems from the outside

I'll also say as someone on a consumer team now (was enterprise/B2B in the past) that I wish the people I designed for knew what we have to deal with internally but.. there's reasons for that lol

Of course they are. But they aren’t telling us what those are for sure. We just the packaged PR hehe.

Why things change is rarely something that can immediately be communicated to users. It might be to enable a new feature but the feature might still be under development. It might be to solve a lower-level, more conceptual problem like engagement being low.

As designers we're inquisitive about this stuff, but I guarantee you that in 95+% of cases, end users do not care. It's a good change or a bad change (usually bad) and their interest ends there.

From my POV (which does not represent anyone at Figma), UI3's goal was to try to refactor complexity with the sidebars to make way for new features. Every time you add to the right pane, it gets harder to find what you want. Compressing and concealing is one potential solve.

The other (secondary? maybe primary?) goal was to introduce a new (again, cleaned up) paradigm for tools and actions across Figma's suite of products. The top bar was a fucking mess for years and the action bar at the bottom is way cleaner.

I could have said stuff but Jef said it way better.

Jed****.

it’s me, jef