The reality of a designer's Figma file
5 min reading
TL;DR
Portfolio screenshots show spotless auto-layout systems, but real working files are chaotic graveyards of unnamed frames and detached components. Your canvas is a scratchpad for thinking, not a polished museum exhibit.
Portfolio vs. Reality
If anyone ever looked at my actual working Figma files, they would probably think I’ve never designed a day in my life. On social media and portfolios, designers post these perfectly curated canvas grids with neat component libraries, documented tokens, and flawless auto-layout frames. But the actual behind-the-scenes reality of the work? It is pure, unadulterated chaos.
The Working Canvas Graveyard
My working canvas is usually a messy graveyard. You'll find twenty iterations of the exact same landing page header sitting side-by-side, hundreds of frame layers lazily named "Frame 8391", detached instances everywhere, and random screenshots piled in the margins for inspiration. The process of figuring out a complex interface is messy, and trying to keep your working canvas spotless while actively brainstorming just slows down the creative flow.
Embracing the Scratchpad
And honestly? That mess is completely fine. The working file is a scratchpad for your brain, not a museum exhibit. What matters isn't how clean the internal artboards look while you're exploring ideas; what matters is that the final handoff assets, component systems, and live production builds are rock solid. Embrace the working mess.
Pluto Grayson
Made in Framer
Created by