Figma Is Expanding Fast — But It's Still a Designer’s Tool at Heart

My feed is filled with Figma hype.

Everyone’s talking about how it’s coming for everyone:
👉 Adobe.
👉 Canva.
👉 Framer.
👉 Webflow.

Bold claims. And honestly? I get the excitement.

Figma’s shipping fast. It’s evolving from a UI design tool into what some call a full creative operating system.

But here’s the thing most people are missing:

Figma’s new features might be impressive, but they’re still built for the same people.

That’s right. All signs point to this:
Figma is still a product for Product Designers, UI Designers, and UX Designers — not marketers, developers, or artists.

Let me explain.

🎯 Who Actually Uses Figma (Still)

Despite the big launches and bold announcements, Figma’s user base hasn’t shifted dramatically.

Its core audience is still:

• 🧩 Product Designers

• 🎨 UI Designers

• 🧠 UX Designers

These are professionals embedded in design systems, flows, wireframes, and component libraries. They care about usability, dev handoff, and systematized design work.

But when Figma tries to go beyond that niche? The traction gets murky.

Let’s look at some examples.

1. FigJam Didn’t Replace Miro

When FigJam launched, it was positioned as a “lightweight, collaborative whiteboarding tool.”

The idea? Give product teams a built-in way to brainstorm and map flows — without leaving Figma.

But in practice?

• PMs, strategists, and marketers still prefer Miro.

• Miro is faster, more robust for multi-disciplinary teams.

• FigJam feels like Figma with a few sticky notes added on.

Result?
Designers use FigJam within their silo.
Cross-functional teams stick with Miro.

2. Figma Slides Didn’t Replace Canva or Google Slides

Recently, Figma announced its take on presentations: Figma Slides.

It’s sleek, interactive, and — like everything Figma makes — collaborative.

But here’s the reality:

• Marketing teams still use Canva, Google Slides, or Keynote.

• They care about brand templates, animations, quick resizing, and exporting decks for external use.

• Figma Slides lacks those polish layers — and assumes a designer’s level of comfort with layout tools.

So yes, Figma Slides is great for design-led reviews and internal decks,
But it’s not replacing Canva for marketing teams anytime soon.

3. Figma Sites Won’t Replace Webflow or Framer for Devs

The biggest splash recently?
Figma Sites — a new visual builder that promises to turn your designs into live websites.

The hype train said:
“This will kill Webflow and Framer!”

But again... let’s look closer.

• Webflow is loved by no-code developers, marketers, and growth teams.

• Framer is a favorite for creative developers and landing page creators.

These users care about:

• CMS flexibility

• SEO performance

• Real deployment pipelines

• Animations, interactions, and fine-tuned breakpoints

And most importantly?
They’re not afraid of code.

Figma Sites is shaping up as a tool to help designers publish small static sites — like portfolios or internal pages. It’s not yet built for scale, CMS, or real-world dev integration.

Again, it's for designers who haven't learned Webflow or Framer — yet.

4. Figma Buzz Won’t Replace Canva or Adobe for Artists

Then there’s Figma Buzz — a new creative tool built for “making things fast” like social posts, graphics, and more.

Sounds like Canva?
Feels like Adobe Express?

But here's the catch:

• Buzz is being adopted by designers who already live in Figma.

• Artists, illustrators, content creators? They’re still on Photoshop, Illustrator, or Canva — tools built around creativity, not components and systems.

Again: Buzz is built for designers already deep in the Figma workflow. It’s not making headway into the broader creative community — at least not yet.

🔄 Same Users, New Features

Here’s the pattern:

• New Figma tools get hyped as “category killers”

• But in reality, they’re just extensions of Figma’s original power base

• The users who adopt them? The same folks who were already designing in Figma

So while Figma is growing in capability, it’s not necessarily growing into new audiences.

It’s expanding horizontally across the product design workflow, not vertically into entirely new professions.

👀 What This Means for Designers

If you’re a Product Designer, UI/UX pro, or Webflow-curious creative — this is great news.

You’re getting:

• More tools in one place

• Easier ways to ship quick experiments

• A tighter design-to-output loop

But let’s not confuse feature expansion with audience expansion.

Figma isn’t becoming the “Photoshop of the web.”
It’s becoming the “Design OS for product teams.”

And that’s still a big deal.

💡 A Thought for Founders & Builders

If you’re building tooling for creative pros, pay attention.

The opportunity isn’t just to mimic Figma or fear it.
It’s to serve the users Figma doesn’t — or can’t — win over.

• Web developers need CMS control, custom code, and publishing freedom.

• Marketers need quick-turn branded templates and export-friendly flows.

• Artists need texture, freedom, and pixel-perfect control.

Figma is focused. There’s still white space around it.

💬 Final Thought

I love Figma. I use it daily. I cheer on its growth.

But let’s not overhype its reach.
Figma's not replacing everyone — it’s just doing more for the same crew.

And honestly? That’s a smart move.