Have you ever felt like you were wasting too much time designing in Figma? Between searching for the perfect icon, exporting dozens of frames, and keeping all your projects organized, it can feel like the hours just slip away.
In this blog post, I have shared 3 Figma plugins that will make your life easier as a designer.
Component Cloner: Easily Duplicate and Edit Elements
The Component Cloner plugin is a productivity powerhouse. This simple but mighty tool lets you easily duplicate any element or component in your design.
Say you have an element with a bunch of effects, constraints, and styling applied that you want to reuse elsewhere. Just right-click the element and select “Clone Component” from the menu. The plugin will instantly copy that element and place the copy right next to the original. All the effects, constraints, and styling will be copied over to the new element.
This saves you from having to manually recreate complex elements from scratch. You can clone buttons, icons, frames, groups, literally any element. It’s a huge time-saver when you’re iterating on a design.
The cloned element is also automatically given a new name to avoid confusion, but you can rename it to whatever you like. You can even choose to lock the clone in place if you want to keep the positioning exactly the same.
Figma has a robust component system built in, but the Component Cloner plugin supercharges it. Any elements you clone will still act as regular Figma components, so if you make changes to the original, the clones will update automatically.
Unsplash: Access Millions of High-Quality Photos
If you’re not a designer by trade, finding high-quality photos for your Figma prototypes can be tricky. That’s where Unsplash comes in. This plugin gives you access to over 2 million (and counting!) free high-resolution photos that are all free to use.
Once you’ve installed the Unsplash plugin, you’ll see an Unsplash icon in your Figma toolbar. Just click it, enter a search term like “workspace” or “team,” and you’ll get a grid of photos to choose from.
When you find an image you like, just drag and drop it right onto your Figma canvas. The photo is instantly added to your file. How’s that for seamless?
A few tips for using Unsplash:
- Search for generic terms to get a wide range of options. Then filter down from there.
- Look through the featured photos and collections for inspiration. Some amazing shots here!
- Check the license details for each photo to make sure you’re using it properly. All Unsplash photos are free to use, but some have additional attribution requirements.
- Once you add a photo, you can crop, filter, mask or layer it just like any other object in Figma. Customize to your heart’s content!
- Keep your file sizes in mind. While Unsplash photos are high resolution, adding too many large images can slow down your Figma file.
- Browse new photos regularly. Unsplash is always adding new images, so you’ll never run out of options.
In the end, the Unsplash plugin is a must-have for any Figma user.
Slazzer: AI Background Remover
Slazzer is an AI-powered background remover that can instantly remove the background from an image with just one click.
This plugin utilizes state-of-the-art machine learning algorithms to detect the main subject in your photo and separate it from the background.
How It Works
Slazzer uses artificial intelligence to analyze your photo and determine what the main subject is, be it a person, product, or object. It then automatically creates an accurate cutout of just the subject, removing the background.
The end result is a transparent PNG file with a perfectly cut-out subject that you can place on any new background.
Rather than tediously tracing around the edges of your subject using the Pen tool, Slazzer does all the hard work for you. All you have to do is:
- Upload your photo or choose from your uploaded photos
- Slazzer will instantly analyze the photo and detect the main subject
- Click “Remove Background” and Slazzer will remove the background, giving you a transparent background PNG cutout of your subject
- Download the PNG to use in your designs
Slazzer supports bulk background removal, so you can remove backgrounds from multiple photos at once. It also works for complex images with fine details, hair, and edges. The end result is a clean, high-quality cutout ready to use in your Figma designs.
If you’re looking to speed up your design workflow in Figma, Slazzer is a must-have plugin.
Conclusion
So there you have it, three Figma plugins that will instantly boost your productivity and help you work smarter, not harder.
Happy Designing!
