Welcome back.

We're combining this week's Leaks issue with a lookback at what we learned on the streets of Config.

We're one week removed from Figma's largest feature announcement, and the dust has settled.

In fact, most of the design industry has moved onto talking about Airbnb's new design (with mixed reviews), Google's impressive Material 3 launch, or Bungie's alleged design theft.

But behind the glossy announcements and fancy demo videos, there's something bigger happening that I can't stop thinking about. Something that has me more excited about designing software than I've been in years.

- Tommy (@designertom)

The Wireframe

• What the streets of Config were really saying
• Design and code are collapsing
• Consolidation vs. Specialization
• The Weekly Leaks

Figma's Suite Era Begins (But the Streets Had More Signal)

If you missed it, here’s what Figma launched:

• Figma Sites – One-click responsive websites with interactions and CMS
• Figma Grid – Auto-layout tables and structured content without friction
• Figma Make – Prompt-to-code playground (competing with Bolt/Lovable)
• Figma Buzz – Canva-style tooling for marketers
• Figma Draw – The stealth killer: new vector tools with brush + texture control

It’s the start of Figma’s Creative Suite era. Everything is rolling out in beta or phased release, with new pricing models coming. Adobe's on notice.

But the real signal wasn’t on stage. It was in the streets and the after-parties.

I heard from people like:

• Jitter’s CEO, who teased motion systems, easing libraries, and team presets
• Ion Design's CEO, who runs the established newcomer with serious backing
• Tom Krcha, ex-Adobe XD and Miro, hinting at a new stealth tool​
• Allie Vogel, whose Flexxi design team scaled from 2 to 15 while replacing UX writers with LLMs and human translators
• Ivan Zhao (Notion CEO), who apparently banned the color green from Notion offices (yes, including plants)

Meanwhile, Stripe Sessions was happening literally across the street.

Jony Ive and Zuck were trading philosophies while Figma tried to claim the creative workflow. It felt like a turf war for who owns the future of digital building.

The Wall Between Design and Code Is Cracking

Forget the features. Let’s talk about what they imply.

This moment isn’t just about shipping products faster. It’s about the dissolving boundary between idea and implementation.

​On our livestream, Ryo Lu (ex-Notion, now leading design at Cursor) said:

He described a world where:

• Designers interact with a canvas
• Coders use an IDE
• PMs write a doc and watch the product scaffold itself as they type

... in the same tool. And it’s close.

Tools like Cursor and Bolt are already experimenting with this.

Ryo built a fully functional prototype of “Baby Cursor”, using Cursor to build Cursor. That’s what velocity looks like when you close the feedback loop between ideation and production.

And this shift isn’t just happening in tooling. It’s happening in how people think about building.

The form of input doesn’t matter. The intent does.

Together with FRAMER​

Framer’s lining up a wave of releases for the Spring Event on May 21, but the details stay locked away.

Everyday workflows compress from minutes to seconds, creative controls feel sharper than anything you’ve touched, and a fresh layer of “superpowers” lets Framer stretch further without breaking stride.

If blank canvases, stray bits of code, or performance-draining experiments have slowed you down, the next drop could make them vanish. It’s fast, it’s visual, and, judging by the private demos, borderline magic.

​Get ready for the Spring Event →​

Consolidation vs. Specialization: Who Actually Wins?

There’s tension in the air.

On one hand: platforms like Figma are expanding horizontally, trying to become the all-in-one.

On the other: tools like Framer, Jitter, Subframe, Spline, Unicorn Studio are laser-focused on doing one thing extremely well (for now).

Soleio (investor in Figma, Framer, Vercel) summed it up:

In other words:

• Alignment tools are fluid, conceptual, malleable
• Production tools are structured, fixed, reliable

Trying to make one tool serve both purposes perfectly is tricky.

But we’re seeing big bets on both models. Figma’s betting on total workflow dominance. Cursor and Framer are betting on focused utility that integrates with the broader ecosystem.

And what matters most is not the tool, but the person wielding it.

The builders who know how to stitch it all together, who use AI to amplify their workflows rather than outsource them, are emerging as the new normal.

Weekly Leaks

We consolidated this week's "leaks" to make time for our recap of Config - but we've got some good whispers to share:

​Ion Design​
Edit any app like a Figma file, then ship to GitHub with full CI/CD flow.

Ion just opened to the public and it’s way deeper than a visual layer (and the best-funded in the space).

Bonus leak: they’re building an AI-powered Storybook killer. Every component gets its own live playground, prop controls, and auto-generated variants.

This one’s for designers inside the codebase.

​Framer​
Two AI features are set to drop May 21. We’re under embargo, but trust: they’re real, they’re fast, and they might kill your “blank canvas” anxiety forever.

​Jitter​
Motion design systems are in the works: team libraries, easing presets, and animated templates. The CEO told me in person at Config. Keep your eyes out this summer.

​Unicorn Studio​
You're gonna love this one: they quietly came out of closed beta. Open signups now. Physics-driven design meets web-ready motion with no-code weirdness. It's time.

​Tom Krcha’s Stealth Tool​
Former Adobe XD and Miro leader is back, teasing a Cursor-powered design mode that smells like a full tool in the making.

The Bottom Line

• Figma’s no longer just a design tool - it’s a suite now
• The barrier between designers and engineers is eroding fast
• Expect consolidation and specialization to thrive - depending on the context
• Tool wars don’t matter. Workflow mastery does
• The new edge isn’t access - it’s speed, adaptability, and intent

What hill are you dying on? Hit reply and tell me.

See you next Tuesday,
—Tommy

P.S. Hunter and I are diving deeper into how design founders and indie builders are using media to build cult-like user growth. Come watch today at 10am PT.

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