Inside Figma’s 2025 Update: For Designers who Think in Systems

Figma’s 2025 update didn’t arrive with fanfare — and it didn’t need to. Rather than chasing attention with flashy features, it delivered something more strategic: a clear signal to the designers who build systems, not just screens.

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At a glance, the additions might seem incremental — a few updates to variables, permissions, and developer handoffs. But taken together, they mark a shift in positioning. Figma is no longer just a design tool. It’s becoming a foundational layer for how large-scale design operations are structured, maintained, and evolved.

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Multi-Mode Variables

One of the most important changes this year is the expansion of variables. What began as a theme-switching utility has grown into a full-fledged system logic framework. Designers can now define multiple modes across use cases — whether it’s light and dark themes, regional variations, or entirely separate brand identities — all within the same file. For teams managing global brands or multi-product portfolios, this dramatically reduces duplication and improves consistency. More importantly, it allows design to respond to context, not just aesthetics.

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Dev Mode 2.0

This systemic approach is further reinforced by Figma’s deeper integration with development. The new version of Dev Mode treats variables and tokens as functional building blocks — not just visual references. Instead of exporting static design specs, teams can now work with elements that map directly to code. What used to be a loose translation between creative and engineering logic is becoming a shared language. For brands scaling across platforms, this means consistency is no longer aspirational — it’s enforceable.

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Component Status and Change Logs

Supporting this infrastructure are quiet but meaningful additions like component status tracking and change logs. These give teams a way to manage what’s live, what’s deprecated, and what’s under review — all from within the system.

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It’s a simple idea, but one that addresses a long-standing problem in design operations: the lack of hygiene. Without clear visibility into what’s active or outdated, systems become cluttered and fragile over time. Figma’s update brings that maintenance layer closer to the core.

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Section-Based Permissions

Section-based permissions add another layer of structure, especially for enterprise teams. Instead of giving blanket access to entire files, teams can now define editing rights at a more granular level. This helps prevent accidental changes to core components while still allowing contributors to collaborate on relevant parts of the system. It’s a practical response to the real-world messiness of shared design ecosystems — one where marketing, product, and external vendors often collide in the same workspace.

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AI Suggestions

Even AI, which many tools have rushed to integrate, is handled with restraint. Figma’s AI suggestions aren’t designed to replace designers or generate content out of thin air. Instead, they assist with operational clarity — helping rename layers, group components, and flag inconsistencies across files. The intelligence here isn’t creative, it’s procedural — designed to support system health, not override it.

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All of this points to a broader recognition: the value of design today isn’t only in craft, but in structure. Designers who understand how to build and maintain scalable systems are becoming essential — not just to design teams, but to the businesses they serve. They’re no longer just enforcing guidelines; they’re shaping the frameworks that make brand consistency possible across time, teams, and platforms.

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Figma’s latest release reflects this shift. It’s not trying to win headlines. It’s trying to equip system thinkers with the tools they need to lead. In doing so, it reaffirms a belief many in the industry have long held: the future of branding isn’t built around campaigns — it’s built around systems. And this update makes that future easier to build.