Prototyping in Figma transforms static designs into interactive simulations, allowing designers to explore, test, and validate user experiences before any development begins. This allows our designer friends to put together a full flow of the experience and test it with customers before we spend countless hours building something that everyone hates.

Setting Up Your First Prototype

Creating Frames and Connections

1. Start with Frames: In Figma, your design screens are contained within Frames. Begin by organizing your design into separate frames for each screen of your prototype.
2. Linking Frames: Use the Prototype tab in the right sidebar to create connections between frames. Select an object or a frame, then drag the connector (a small circle) to another frame to create an interaction.

Interactions and Transitions

1. Adding Interactions: With frames linked, specify the type of interaction (e.g., click, hover) that triggers the transition.
2. Choosing Transitions: Figma offers various transition effects like dissolve, slide, and push. Experiment with these to find the best fit for your prototype’s flow.

Advanced Prototyping Features

Utilizing Overlays

Overlays allow you to overlay a frame over another without navigating away. Perfect for modals, dropdowns, or any element that appears above the current content.

Scrolling and Fixed Elements

1. Enable Scrolling: To simulate scrolling, wrap your content in a frame and adjust its height to the viewport size. Then, set the content to scroll vertically or horizontally.
2. Fixing Elements: Fix elements (e.g., headers) by selecting the layer and using the “Fix position when scrolling” option in the Prototype tab.

Smart Animate

Smart Animate magically animates transitions between frames that have common elements. Simply name the elements consistently across frames and choose “Smart Animate” as the animation type.

Interactive Components

Interactive components are reusable elements with predefined states (like buttons with normal, hover, and pressed states). Use variants to create these interactive elements for more dynamic prototypes.

Best Practices for Prototyping

• Keep Prototypes Organized: Label your frames and interactions clearly and utilize Figma’s layers panel to manage the complexity.
• Embrace Iterative Design: Use feedback from user testing to refine your prototype iteratively. Prototyping is a cyclical process, and improvements are always around the corner.

Building a Complete Prototype

Let’s apply what we’ve learned by creating a prototype for a simple mobile app:

1. Design Your Frames: Start by designing the key screens of your app. Include a home screen, a search results page, and a details screen.
2. Link Your Frames: Use the Prototype tab to drag connectors from buttons or interactive elements on one frame to the corresponding screen.
3. Add Interactions: Define the interactions for each linked element. For example, set a tap interaction on a search button to navigate to the search results page.
4. Implement Overlays and Scrolling: If your app has a modal or a dropdown menu, create an overlay. Also, enable vertical scrolling for your search results page.
5. Test and Share: Preview your prototype using Figma’s presentation view, and share it with users or stakeholders for feedback.