As a part of the Digital Asset Management (DAM) process in Figma, I created guidelines for how a Figma file should have its pages structured and named for all Spreetail designers. In my rampage of pernicious progress, I made these requirements way too stringent for designers. When someone creates a new design file with an idea in their eye, the last thing they should be starting with is scaffolding a file structure. Fortunately, the Figma API gave me the solution.

To start, I researched the needs of designers in the realm of file structures. Namely - what pages do designers need in a Figma file, and for which types of files? I identified four different types of files that our designers used, and built preset page structures for each of them. Now, with the click of a button, a designer could completely bootstrap their file with DAM-compliant pages.

I developed the Scaffold plugin using typescript and Figma’s native API. The React Styled-Components library was also used to style the interactive UI modal.

Users had nothing but positive feedback for the initial versions. Later versions of the plugin have introduced style changes, file-cover components, and emoji in the page names. Some small aids for quick visual identification, and a little bit of fun!