There are gaps in the vision of the designer and the vision of the developer, and to make sure that the designs are accurately executed, there is a long exchange process that is required between the two. However, the launch of the Material UI Sync Plugin for Figma aims to resolve this sort of thing and this will improve the processes and make working together much easier.
The Challenge of Bridging Design and Development
In recent years, designers have searched ways in which they could actively join the process, utilizing their know-how in ensuring that the envisaged designs are fully executed. This, however, is a problem which creates exasperating difficulties for graphical user interface material designers because of inconsistent implementation across a multitude of software programs and technical platforms.
Material UI Drafting Kit for Figma was a first step towards meeting these requirements since it enabled material designers to create mockups of material UI components on a one to one basis. But even with this new tool, the process was not quite completed. The crucial void still persisted: developers still had to manually write custom styles based on the designer’s work, which could eventually lead to differences or faults in the output.
That’s where the Material UI Sync Plugin comes in.
Key Features of the Material UI Sync Plugin
1. Theme Customization
One of the many compelling capabilities of the plugin is the option to completely customize a theme. Utilizing the local variables of Figma allows for the creation of design tokens that are essential for consistency in a design system. With Material UI Sync, designers are able to modify the design aspects and produce the relevant theme code on the fly.
2. Component Customization
Yet another fascinating aspect of the plugin is its functionality that enables designers to modify components right in Figma. You can set up the different appearances of components on different states (e.g., hover, focus, …) and generate the theme code out of those changes.
Even though the beta version of the plugin does not yet support all components, at the moment it supports major components such as Button, Switch, and Typography. And this is key because it lets designers make changes using a live update and modify styles they updated during the live update code.
3. Quick Storybook Preview
The addition of Storybook support inside Material UI Sync Plugin is also another added benefit. The designers now have a quick view so that they can test their modification and embodiments quickly. It eases the designers’ tasks by providing the means to actually alter components and observe their appearances and behavior in the desired context without once removing the code from the sight, thus shifting all focus towards them.
How to Get Started
The Material UI Sync Plugin is currently in its beta phase, and it is available to Figma users. To get started, ensure that you’re using Material UI Design Kit v5.16.0 or later, as it is required for the plugin to function properly.
Wrapping It Up
The new Material UI Sync Plugin has immensely bridged the gap between designers and developers. This plugin is a great tool for teams who want to automate the process, improve collaboration and maintain consistency between design and the final product. If you are a designer looking to take a more hands on approach to the development phase or a developer aiming for a reduced TAT in development as well as a better precision in the deployment of designs the Material UI Sync Plugin will certainly help.
Comments