In June of this year, Figma launched its Make Design service, which allowed users to harness the power of generative neural networks to create app designs. However, the developers soon had to stop working on this product because it created projects that closely resembled existing iOS applications. Now Figma is back with a product called First Draft, which is an AI assistant for designers.
Image source: Figma
Along with the launch of First Draft, the developers integrated a number of innovations into the service. For example, users can choose between app and website layouts or full versions. Searching for design elements by text description or image is supported.
In their blog, Figma developers again stated that the neural networks they use are not trained on user content, and also talked more about how the new service works. “First Draft does not learn from customer content. Uses off-the-shelf AI models, such as OpenAI GPT-4 and Amazon Titan, with three key elements: model, context, and hint. The context includes native design system models with numerous components and assembly examples. Users indicate their goals as a hint. Artificial intelligence then selects, arranges and configures design system components based on this data, creating a starting point for design,” Figma said in a statement.
Figma said it has reinstated its AI design assistant after “extensive review” and additional testing. Among other AI functions that are available to First Draft users, we note the presence of a tool for automatically generating text for user projects. At this stage, First Draft is available to a limited number of users as part of a beta testing program.