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Creating a Responsive Grid System in Figma: A Comprehensive Guide
Learn how to create a responsive grid system for UI designs in Figma, focusing on desktop, tablet, and mobile layouts. Discover tips for effective grid usage and alignment.
Video Summary
In the realm of UI design, creating a responsive grid system is essential for ensuring that applications look great across various devices. A recent video tutorial delves into this topic, showcasing how to effectively set up a grid system in Figma, focusing on three primary device frames: desktop, tablet, and mobile. The presenter begins the tutorial by establishing a desktop frame, followed by an iPad Mini for tablet designs and an iPhone 14 for mobile interfaces.
The tutorial emphasizes the significance of both horizontal and vertical grids to maintain consistent spacing throughout the design. For the desktop version, the presenter recommends utilizing a 12-column grid, which includes a gutter of 32 pixels and a margin of 50 pixels. This setup not only organizes content effectively but also enhances the overall aesthetic of the design. The concept of a 'container' is introduced, which serves as an area to organize content, with suggested widths of 1120 pixels for desktop, 680 pixels for tablet, and 358 pixels for mobile.
To create a vertical grid, the presenter adds rows with a height of 1000 pixels and a gutter of 8 pixels. The importance of adhering to an 8-point grid system for alignment is also highlighted, ensuring that all elements fit seamlessly within the design framework. For tablet designs, an 8-column grid is recommended due to the reduced screen space, allowing for a more efficient use of the available area.
As the tutorial progresses, the speaker discusses the adjustments needed for grid settings across different devices to maintain a cohesive design. For iPads, the horizontal grid's column count is set to 8, with margins reduced to 32 pixels and gutters to 16 pixels, maximizing the screen's usability. When it comes to iPhones, the column count is decreased to 4, with both margins and gutters set to 16 pixels. This approach adheres to design recommendations, ensuring that content spacing remains safe and visually appealing.
A key takeaway from the tutorial is that all grid values should be divisible by 8, reinforcing the 8-point grid system's role in achieving responsiveness. The presenter also shares valuable tips for using grids effectively, such as adjusting nudge amounts in preferences to ensure that elements move in increments that align with the grid.
Addressing a common misconception among junior designers, the speaker clarifies that not all elements need to align strictly with the grid. Instead, only containers should align, while internal elements can maintain consistent padding without the necessity for strict alignment. The video concludes with a reminder that layout grids serve as guides, allowing for intentional deviations when necessary, thus fostering creativity within the structured framework of design.
Click on any timestamp in the keypoints section to jump directly to that moment in the video. Enhance your viewing experience with seamless navigation. Enjoy!
Keypoints
00:00:00
Introduction to Grid System
The video introduces a method to create a responsive grid system for UI designs in Figma, promising tips for effective grid usage throughout the project.
00:00:16
Creating Frames
The speaker begins by creating three essential frames in Figma: one for desktop, one for tablet (iPad Mini), and one for mobile (iPhone 14), emphasizing the need for different frames to accommodate various device sizes.
00:00:57
Types of Grids
The discussion highlights the necessity of both horizontal and vertical grids to maintain consistent spacing in designs. The speaker starts with the desktop version, adding a layout grid to the selected frame.
00:01:40
Grid Settings for Desktop
For the desktop frame, the speaker sets the column count to 12, which is a standard practice in web design. The grid type is adjusted to 'stretch' to ensure responsiveness, allowing for margin and gutter adjustments.
00:02:28
Margin and Gutter
The speaker explains the concepts of margin (space around columns) and gutter (space between columns), recommending a gutter size of 32 for the desktop grid. The margin is set to 50 initially, with adjustments based on container size.
00:03:12
Container Size Recommendations
The speaker discusses container sizes, noting that while there is no strict standard, common sizes include 1140 points, 1120 points, and 1100 points for desktop. For tablets, a size of 680 points is suggested, and for mobile, 358 or 360 points are mentioned.
00:04:13
Setting Margin
The speaker decides to set the margin for the desktop grid to 160, indicating the importance of adjusting margins to achieve the desired layout and spacing in the design.
00:04:23
Grid Setup
The speaker begins by setting the container's width to 1120 points, creating a horizontal grid. To establish a vertical grid, they select the frame and navigate to the layout grid section, changing the type from grid to rows. The vertical grid is configured to start from the top of the screen with a height set to 1000 points, ensuring it remains visible even when the frame height is increased. The offset is set to zero, and the height and gutter are both set to 8 points, facilitating a consistent 8-point grid system.
00:05:58
Responsive Design
For tablet design, the speaker notes that typically eight columns are used due to limited space. They demonstrate how to copy the layout grid from the desktop frame to the iPad frame, maintaining the vertical grid properties while adjusting the horizontal grid. The horizontal grid's column count is set to eight, with margins decreased to 32 points and gutters to 16 points, optimizing the use of available screen width.
00:07:35
Mobile Adjustments
When transitioning to mobile design, the speaker copies the grid settings again, reducing the column count to four. The margin and gutter are both set to 16 points, adhering to the recommendation of not going below 16 points to ensure a safe area around the content. The speaker emphasizes that all grid values are divisible by eight, reinforcing the use of an 8-point or 4-point grid system for consistency.
00:08:29
Grid Responsiveness
The speaker highlights the importance of responsive grids, noting that the grids are set to stretch, which allows them to adapt responsively. They caution that if the type is set to center, the grids will not be responsive. This flexibility is crucial for maintaining design integrity across different screen sizes.
00:08:47
Nudge Amount Adjustment
The speaker explains how to adjust the nudge amount in Figma for better alignment with an 8-point grid system. By accessing the preferences and changing the nudge amount from 10 to 8 pixels, users can move elements more precisely using the arrow keys, with the shift key allowing for larger movements.
00:09:50
Grid Alignment Misconceptions
Addressing a common misconception among junior designers, the speaker emphasizes that not all elements need to align with the layout grid. For instance, while the navigation bar's container aligns with the grid, the individual links do not, which is acceptable. The focus should be on ensuring that containers align with the grid while maintaining consistent padding for internal elements.
00:11:43
Consistent Padding Importance
The speaker highlights the significance of consistent padding within elements. For example, a container may have 40-point vertical padding and 80-point horizontal padding, while individual cards maintain a left padding of 32 points and bottom/right padding of 30 points. This consistency is crucial even if the internal elements do not align with the layout grid.
00:12:00
Breaking Grid Rules
The speaker notes that a layout grid serves as a guide rather than a strict rule. An example is provided where an image intentionally breaks the grid alignment, illustrating that designers can make deliberate choices to enhance visual appeal. The speaker encourages viewers to learn more about responsive UI design and invites them to like and subscribe for future tutorials.