Figma did it again... ugh.

Issue #006

Tune in at 12 p.m. CST today as Soren Iverson joins for This Week in Design™ - the most chaotic design show in existence. Today, we’re diving into Soren’s viral designs, building Stompers, and growing his agency, Iverson. The event will be streamed from my personal Twitter account here.

Let’s talk about this so-called “new and improved” pricing structure that Figma has cooked up for 2025. Apparently, the brilliant minds behind our favorite design tool decided that we all needed a mandatory upgrade to their full seat—complete with a buffet of products we neither requested nor require. Of course, the actual design tool is going up in price, too: we’re talking 20% more on enterprise, 22% on organization, and a whopping 33% on the professional plan. For freelancers and small teams, consider it a holiday gift you never asked for, stuffed into a stocking you can’t return.

But wait, there’s more. They’re bundling FigJam and Slides right into the new full seat as if we’ve been pining for these bonus features all along—think of it as the corporate version of a cheap cable package. Sure, you can choose not to use them, but you’ll pay for them anyway because that’s the genius of this all-inclusive subscription model. And if you dare to collaborate with others who don’t have full access, get ready to upgrade them too, so the whole team’s budget balloons into oblivion.

In fairness, Figma’s tossing us a bone by letting admins approve seat upgrades and promising a future “Connected Projects” feature that might help freelancers and agencies. But let’s be honest: these gestures are overshadowed by their unapologetically steep pricing hikes. It looks like we’re left hoping that enough user outrage will convince them to rethink this strategy; otherwise, we’ll keep wondering which unnecessary add-on they’ll force down our throats next year.

Framer launches Analytics — for free. Christmas came early!

Fons and Contra are “Designing in Public,” and I’m here for it. It’s a great matchup to see someone so community-focused partner with a company that desperately needs community buy-in. Excited to see where this goes.

The “Stripe fees & taxes” are about $23k in Stripe Fees and $500k in taxes. ☠️

Designers are still introverts, even on the internet.