By all appearances, Figma is a designer’s dream: a cloud-based haven where creators, developers, marketers, and managers can gather in real time to build, refine, and perfect their digital products. It promises seamless communication, faster iteration, and collective brilliance—a shared canvas for shared success.
But dig a little deeper, and a different picture emerges.
Behind the glowing testimonials and productivity promises lies a more complicated reality: when everyone has a voice, whose vision prevails? And more importantly, what happens when too many voices start to drown out the clarity and purpose of great design?
The Allure of Real-Time Collaboration
When Figma first burst onto the scene, it felt revolutionary. No more endless back-and-forth between static files and email chains. Designers could create while others watched, commented, and adjusted in real time. It was a thrilling kind of digital symphony: one person moves a headline, another adjusts the spacing, someone else catches a typo—bam, instant progress.
Moments of genuine magic happen in Figma. A teammate might flag a critical UX issue you hadn’t seen. A developer might jump in to clarify feasibility. Marketing might reword a headline on the spot to better align with brand tone. When it works, it really works.
But like any powerful tool, its strength can become its weakness.
The Problem of Unlimited Access
Collaboration without boundaries quickly becomes clutter. Give everyone edit access, and suddenly a well-structured design turns into a chaotic patchwork. Layered edits stack up like digital graffiti. Half-baked revisions live beside finished work. Comments float like tumbleweeds across the canvas—vague, cryptic, or downright unhelpful.
It’s not uncommon to open a file and be met with what looks like the aftermath of a design battlefield. Invisible wars over font weights. Endless discussions over shades of blue. Shadow effects tested, deleted, resurrected. You spend more time untangling the thread than actually moving the design forward.
At a certain point, it stops being collaboration and starts being interference.
Feedback Fatigue Is Real
Of course, feedback is essential. But let’s be honest—not all feedback is equal.
There’s the helpful kind: thoughtful, specific, and grounded in the user experience. And then there’s the unfiltered noise: “This feels off.” “Can it pop more?” “Just not vibing with this layout.” These aren’t critiques—they’re impressions. And while impressions matter, they don’t always point to actionable design solutions.
When everyone from sales to operations weighs in on spacing, iconography, or color palettes, the original design intent can get diluted—often to the point of disappearance. You start with a strong, focused idea, and end up with a design-by-committee compromise that satisfies no one and inspires even less.
Reclaiming the Process: Setting Boundaries
So what’s the answer? Abandoning collaboration isn’t the solution—but redefining it might be.
One of the smartest shifts a designer can make is to differentiate between collaborators and commentators. Not everyone needs editing rights. In fact, many people shouldn’t have them. Figma allows for flexible permissions—use them. Designers design. Reviewers comment. Everyone has a role.
Next, structure the feedback loop. Instead of letting a trickle of comments derail your focus throughout the day, set scheduled feedback sessions. Gather everyone, walk them through the design, and invite comments with context. This not only saves time—it leads to sharper, more focused insights.
And don’t underestimate the power of asynchronous review. Allow teammates to leave comments on their own time, but with clear expectations: be specific, be constructive, and be concise. Vague feedback is worse than no feedback—it confuses, delays, and ultimately weakens the product.
Organization Isn’t OCD—It’s Necessary
With multiple hands in the same file, structure becomes sacred. Implement file naming conventions. Archive outdated versions. Use pages to separate explorations from final work. Treat your Figma file like a shared kitchen—everyone might be cooking, but someone has to keep things clean.
And finally, make peace with occasionally saying no. Not every suggestion deserves to make the cut. A strong design isn’t one that pleases everyone—it’s one that serves its purpose with clarity and consistency.
Figma Isn’t the Problem
The real issue isn’t Figma—it’s how teams use it. Like any powerful tool, Figma can enable brilliance or sow confusion. It’s not inherently democratic or chaotic. It’s neutral. The design culture you create around it determines whether it helps or hinders.
In skilled, focused hands, Figma is a marvel—agile, empowering, and efficient. In a free-for-all, it becomes a sandbox of half-realized ideas and endless indecision.
So, no—collaboration isn’t overrated. But unstructured collaboration is. If every voice is equal, then no direction is clear. Sometimes, fewer cooks really do make a better meal.
And if you’re still stuck debating header alignment at 10 p.m., consider this your reminder: good design isn’t about getting everyone to agree. It’s about knowing when to listen—and when to lead.
