2122020241 “The precipitous rise of Figma and fall of InVision | by Meghan Wenzel | Feb, 2024 | UX Collective Open in app e Rb del any 411K Followers = This is your last free member-only story this month. Upgrade for unlimited access, The precipitous rise of Figma and fall of InVision What we can learn from their stories. Meghan Wenzel 12hours ago - 6 min read * tte \/web-design/adobe-xd-vs-sketch-fiama-invision, In business, things change quickly. Trends come and go; tools wax and wane. Companies have to stay abreast of trends and constantly innovate in order to survive. htpssluxdesign ccthe-preciptous-is-of-fgma-and al-oFinvsion-43SIO7e86106 wri222 ‘The precipitous rise of Figma and fall of InVision | by Meghan Wenzel | Feb, 2024 |UX Collective Open in app @ relic. In 2017, InVision was the top prototyping tool, with 60% of UXTool survey respondents indicating they used it. Only three years later, their user share fell to 23%, with more than half of those people only using it as a secondary tool. In contrast, Figma has seen an explosion of growth and popularity, rising from about 8% of respondents using the tool in 2017 to about 57% in 2020. Prototyping through the years (EMME sketch [EN Figma [NNN] Adobe XD [EINE Invision 70 60 50 40 30 20 % of respondents using the tool 10 2017 2018 2019 2020 Year UXToo!'s graph of prototyping tool usage over time Where did InVision go wrong? Lack of product focus and strategy « InVision started as a prototyping tool to be used alongside Sketch. They never expanded their functionality to include design functionality though, failing to htpssluxdesign ccthe-preciptous-is-of-fgma-and al-oFinvsion-43SIO7e86106i222 “The precipitous rise of Figma and fall of InVision | by Meghan Wenzel | Feb, 2024 |UX Collective Open in app e Features and applications were thrown together, creating a Frankenstein app that was only loosely stitched together, providing users with a substandard experience. * Additionally, instead of investing their time, energy, and resources on making a great product, they focused on marketing, churning out podcasts, blog posts, and design resources. As a result, their product felt like an afterthought, and customers quickly noticed. © One user notes “I always found Invision ok, instead of spending so much money on Lack of innovation * Due to their lack of focus, they weren't spending the time and effort required to innovate. It seems their initial success went to their heads, and they lost their hunger to improve. out.” Slow pace of development * Not only did they fail to innovate, they failed to implement basic feature improvements. It took them 5 years to add a simple organizational “folders” feature that was heavily requested. * One user noted “Basic improvements have taken eons, if they've ever been addressed al all, and major feature improvements have seemed extremely lacking.” Lack of iteration and response to market and customer feedback * Additionally, InVision failed to respond to the barrage of negative feedback they were receiving. As existing customers increasingly churned, more and more prospects refused to engage at their price point, and their market share tanked, they failed to take a step back, reflect, and change course. * One employee laments “Product has not improved AT ALL in 3 years > Enterprise customers churn left and it and competitors are eating us alt htpssluxdesign ccthe-preciptous-is-of-fgma-and al-oFinvsion-43SIO7e86106i222 “The precipitous rise of Figma and fall of InVision | by Meghan Wenzel | Feb, 2024 |UX Collective Open in app en stakes SaaS Enterprise features so real, sophisticated buyers refuse to engage at our The Rise of Figma Figma saw a market opportunity and didn’t hesitate to pounce. Below, UXTools shares the 2020 “Designer Toolkit”, showcasing the top tools Designers use for a variety of activities. Simply put, Figma is dominating the field. UXToo!’s design tool category winners What's propelling Figma’s success? Leadership understands and values Design « Fitting for a company building a design tool, Figma’s leadership understands the value of design. Their VP of Product is very design oriented and laser focused on htpssluxdesign ccthe-preciptous-is-of-fgma-and al-oFinvsion-43SIO7e861062r22r2024 “The precipitous rise of Figma and fall of InVision | by Meghan Wenzel | Feb, 2024 |UX Collective Open in app e Amazon, and Airbnb have all enjoyed wild success based on their design focus and customer obsession. Focusing on product purpose « Figma has worked to deeply understand users’ needs and context, and then built a holistic solution to address them. A Lead Designer reflects on life before Figma “To give you an idea, at the time Lused 3.different tools to manage, update and keep track of the designs. I would start in implementation.” Seeing opportunity for improvement, Figma redefined the design tool ecosystem. Understanding and addressing how people work * Additionally, Figma understands that designing is a collaborative process, involving a variety of stakeholders. To accommodate how people work, they've focused on enabling seamless cross functional collaboration. * A Web Designer and Developer explains “Building for everyone in the design process and not just designers is also the foundation of Figma’s core loop, which drives their growth and compounding scale.” So, what can we learn from these two companies? Companies need a clear product purpose and strategy * Aclear and compelling product purpose is a must. Your product needs to address a real user need, and you'll likely need to adjust your scope and strategy over time. The tricky part is maintaining focus while adjusting to emerging trends and market shifts. You need to be open to addressing newfound gaps and opportunities, while still staying focused and strategic in your execution. Unfortunately no one said building an amazing, long-lasting business is easy... htpssluxdesign ccthe-preciptous-is-of-fgma-and al-oFinvsion-43SIO7e861062r22r2024 ‘The precipitous rise of Figma and fall of InVision | by Meghan Wenzel | Feb, 2024 |UX Collective — en Identifying major unmet needs, frustrations, workarounds, and pain points are ripe opportunities for innovation and disruption. * Additionally, you need to consider the wider ecosystem of your users — exploring how they interact and collaborate with each other. While you likely have a primary type of user, who else touches your product? Who else could benefit from it? How can you improve their lives and processes as well? Success requires relentless innovation * Ifyou enjoy early success, you can’t stop and bask in your glory indefinitely. You should celebrate your success, and then put your head down and stay true to the product focus and human centered design practices that got you this far. + Companies such as Blockbuster, Polaroid, and Toys R Us failed to innovate, and they all paid the price. Companies must adapt and rapidly learn from feedback * Companies must regularly review and respond to market and customer feedback regarding pricing, revenue, market share, product needs, competitors, etc. © You can’t put your head in the sand and blindly execute your strategy without regard for incoming data points. On the other hand, you need to look for patterns and trends in the feedback — you don’t want to drastically change course every week based on a single data point. Like this article? Join my email list. The UX Collective donates USS1 for each article published on our platform. This story contributed to Bay Area Black Designers: a professional development community for Black people who are digital designers and researchers in the San Francisco Bay Area. By joining together in community, members share inspiration, connection, peer mentorship, professional development, resources, feedback, support, and resilience. Silence against systemic racism is not an option. Build the design community you believe in. Sign up for The UX Collective Newsletter By UX Collective htpsluxdesign ccfthe-preciptous-is-of-tgma-and al-oFinvsion-435IO7 86106212202021 “The precipitous rise of Figma and fall of InVision | by Meghan Wenzel | Feb, 2024 |UX Collective Open in app e {Emails willbe sent to kajber98@emallcom. SECU ou7 Hperssee UX Product Design Design Ul_—_Product Manag @0| Medium About Help Legal ey ay LP Google Play hitpsluxdesign.cchth uW