Figma is a vector-based design tool that is used by web and app designers to create high-fidelity prototypes. One of the unique features of Figma is its auto-layout system, which allows designers to create responsive designs with ease.
In this article, we will take a look at what auto-layout is, how it works, and how you can use it to create responsive designs in Figma.
Auto-layout is a system that automatically arranges elements on a page according to certain rules. In Figma, these rules are called constraints. Constraints can be based on size, position, or spacing.
Size constraints are used to keep elements a certain size relative to other elements on the page. For example, you can set an element to be 50% the width of its container.
Position constraints are used to position elements relative to other elements on the page. For example, you can set an element to be centered within its container.
Spacing constraints are used to control the spacing between elements on the page. For example, you can set two elements to have equal space between them.
Figma’s auto-layout system is very powerful and can be used to create complex responsive designs with ease. In the next section, we will take a look at how you can use auto-layout to create a simple responsive layout.
Creating a Responsive Layout with Auto-Layout
To demonstrate how auto-layout works, we will create a simple responsive layout with three columns. We will use size constraints to make the columns resize automatically when the page is resized. We will also use spacing constraints to keep the columns evenly spaced apart.
1. Create a new Figma file and add three rectangles to the canvas. These rectangles will represent our columns.
2. Select all three rectangles and click on the “auto-layout” icon in the toolbar (it looks like two arrows pointing at each other). This will open the auto-layout panel.
3. In the auto-layout panel, select “size” from the dropdown menu and then click on the “add constraint” button (it looks like a plus sign). This will add a size constraint to all of the selected elements.
4. In the size constraint settings, set the “width” option to “50%”. This will make each column 50% the width of its container (the canvas).
5. Next, select “spacing” from the dropdown menu and then click on the “add constraint” button (it looks like a plus sign). This will add a spacing constraint between all of the selected elements.
6. In the spacing constraint settings, set the “space” option to “16px”. This will add 16px of space between each column.
7. Now that we have our constraints set up, we need to tell Figma how we want our columns to resize when the page is resized. To do this, click on the “responsive resize” icon in the toolbar (it looks like two arrows pointing at each other).
8. In the responsive resize settings, select “fluid widths” from the dropdown menu and then click on the “resize” button (it looks like a plus sign). This will make all of our columns resize automatically when the page is resized.
9. That’s it!
Our responsive layout is now complete! You can test it out by resizing your browser window or previewing your design in Figma’s built-in viewer (click on File > Preview).
