TLDR
Enhance your design workflow with Cozy's June bookmarks. Discover Figma plugins for creating smooth animations (60%), consistent arrows, mathematically-backed shadow systems, and Illustrator-like mesh gradients. Also featured: a UX project discovery phase guide, a 3D illustration tool, and a web font optimization tutorial.
Each month we share some of what we've found in the course of doing what we do. Here's some of what we found in June — lots of Figma plugins as we build out our workflow and Figma expertise. Here's hoping these prove useful for us and for you.
How to make ultra-smooth animations in Figma
An introduction to a sophisticated Figma plugin that brings keyframe animation into this mostly-static design tool.
Arrow Auto
Another Figma plugin to draw smooth, consistent, automatically-updated arrow heads.
Elevation Scale
Yet another Figma plugin, this one to quickly create a shadow system with a rigorous, rational, mathematical backing.
Mesh Gradient
You guessed it… a Figma plugin. This one helps you create complex gradients based on an underlying 2-D mesh. Illustrator called, they wnat their flagship feature from 2008 back.
The Discovery Phase in UX Projects
A nice run-through from the venerable Nielsen-Norman group on how to get UX project started.
Isometrica 3D Constructor
Custom-build illustration assets with this tool that lets you assemble and customize your own isometric 3D art. (Fear not, there's a Figma plug-in.)
Inside the all-hands meeting that led to a third of Basecamp employees quitting
Didja hear about the ruckus at lofty Basecamp? Top brass banned "societal and political discussions" in internal chat, and ho boy did a reckoning ensue.
5 steps to faster web fonts
Some practical, pragmatic steps you — yes you! — can take to speed up the web.
Optical size, the hidden superpower of variable fonts
Geek out a bit about web typography, and how it can make for a more readable internet. Bonus: the demo font used is our font of choice: Fraunces.