Taking Flight: Lessons Learned on Adopting Figma at United
As a Figma Signature Service Partner, I was honored to take the stage with Derrick Wilkinson, Director of the Employee User Experience Team at United Airlines℠, at Config 2024 last month. Together, we detailed United’s journey in migrating its design system, ORION, from legacy tools to Enterprise Figma. This transformation created a universal source of truth for its designers and developers.
Our session provided valuable insights for organizations considering a Figma migration. By prioritizing employee needs through comprehensive training and clear communication, United successfully transitioned ORION to Figma while simultaneously launching its rebrand and releasing ORION 2.0. The adoption of Figma has not only improved design and development efficiency and consistency but has also positioned the Employee UX team for scale and growth, underscoring the benefits of this transition.
Migrating to Figma is a technical, operational, and human endeavor. Considerations both big and small can meaningfully impact adoption of the new tool.
Dedicating resources, including leveraging outside experts to guide the process, is crucial to ensuring a smooth migration to Figma. If you’re looking to migrate, be sure to develop a detailed transition plan to effectively sunset legacy tools and rebuild components manually in Figma from the start for optimal results. By prioritizing these steps, organizations can achieve a successful Figma adoption and enhance their overall design efficiency and consistency.
From design system implementation to workflow operations and product team training and adoption, One North can support your current and expanding needs around Figma. We help clients realize more accurate, consistent, and efficient workflows—and launch thoughtful digital products and experiences. Learn more about One North’s Figma capabilities today.
As Managing Director of Design, Jessica leads One North’s Design and Front-End Development disciplines and helps facilitate the seamless collaboration between these teams. She partners with clients to deliver innovative solutions–including creative strategy, website design concepts and brand development–and provides unique perspective on the crossroads of design and technology.