WeAreDevelopers Logo WeAreDevelopers
Sign in
For You LIVE
World Congress 2024 • Aug 20, 2024 • Session details

Fireside Chat with Kris Rasmussen, CTO at Figma

Kris Rasmussen , Thomas Pamminger

Kris Rasmussen argues AI won't replace human craftsmanship. Instead, it will eliminate tedious boilerplate. Discover how Figma bridges the historical friction between freeform visual exploration and structured code.

Pause
Mute Enter Fullscreen
#1 about 3 min

Joining Figma and building real-time distributed graphical systems

A background in game engines and graphics led to developing real-time distributed systems for collaborative design tools.

#2 about 3 min

Overcoming technical challenges of browser-based design environments

Leveraging early low-level browser abstractions and C++ enabled complex graphical applications to run efficiently on the web.

#3 about 3 min

Advancing design tools for modern frontend development requirements

Moving beyond pre-rendered bitmaps to native browser primitives allows design tools to match the constraints of dynamic layouts and responsive form factors.

#4 about 2 min

Introducing tools built specifically for developer handoff needs

Creating dedicated interfaces helps development teams navigate large canvases and isolate specific versions for implementation without visual noise.

#5 about 4 min

Resolving the divergence between direct manipulation and code abstractions

Balancing the initial rapid exploration phases of visual design with the strict abstractions and edge cases required in production code.

#6 about 4 min

Balancing open exploration and project execution phase milestones

Transitioning from open exploration to focused execution prevents team unalignment by establishing concrete milestones and demonstrating forward momentum.

#7 about 2 min

Visualizing momentum through direct artifacts of product progress

Focusing on visible artifacts of creation reduces administrative work and better aligns teams than task-oriented project management systems.

#8 about 4 min

Automating tedious layer renaming and design prototyping tasks

Streamlining repetitive workflows like layer structuring and raw prototype connections allows technical teams to focus on actual design decisions.

#9 about 3 min

Moving past chat interfaces to domain-specific artificial intelligence modalities

Applying AI effectively requires tailoring new input models to specific workflows instead of forcing natural language onto precision professional tasks.

#10 about 4 min

Elevating professional craftsmanship beyond standardized algorithmic output generation

While automation generates basic baseline components quickly, professional craftsmanship becomes entirely essential for producing distinct and high-quality final applications.

#11 about 2 min

Understanding how differences in iteration speed yield new breakthroughs

Removing friction from tedious development tasks dramatically speeds up iteration cycles, opening entirely unmapped territories for software exploration.

#12 about 2 min

Unexpected community adaptations of real-time multiplayer graphical surfaces

Lowering the barrier to real-time spatial interaction allows user bases to creatively adapt tools for unintended use cases like crisis communication.

Matching moments

5:17 min

Accelerating ideation and visualization with Figma Make

Emil Sjölander Emil Sjölander · WWC 2025

1:48 min

Bridging the deployment gap with Figma Dev Mode

Jade Jiang Jade Jiang +1 · WWC 2024

2:07 min

Introduction to an open source design prototyping tool

Pablo Ruiz-Muzquiz · Coffee With Developers

10:09 min

Transitioning from graphic design to large scale frontend architecture

Erasmo Hernandez Erasmo Hernandez · WWC Europe 2026

4:32 min

Audience Q&A on tooling choices and AI application prototyping

MIlan Todorović MIlan Todorović · WWC Europe 2026

3:59 min

Reimagining remote ideation with digital canvas tools

More from World Congress 2024

Beyond the Hype: Real-World AI Strategies Panel thumbnail
24:07
10 months ago

Beyond the Hype: Real-World AI Strategies Panel

Mike Butcher, Jürgen Müller, Katrin Lehmann, Tobias Regenfuss

Carl Lapierre - Exploring Advanced Patterns in Retrieval-Augmented Generation thumbnail
21:17
almost 2 years ago

Carl Lapierre - Exploring Advanced Patterns in Retrieval-Augmented Generation

Carl Lapierre

Coding an Immersive Copilot using Unity / .NET and Azure OpenAI! thumbnail
31:50
almost 2 years ago

Coding an Immersive Copilot using Unity / .NET and Azure OpenAI!

Zaid Zaim

Building a diverse tech company: The power of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging thumbnail
29:43
almost 2 years ago

Building a diverse tech company: The power of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging

Sue Quackenbush

Dapr in Practice thumbnail
24:08
almost 2 years ago

Dapr in Practice

marcklefter

Minimising the Carbon Footprint of Workloads thumbnail
27:46
almost 2 years ago

Minimising the Carbon Footprint of Workloads

Michael Mueller

Upcoming sessions on this topic

Open session

World Congress 2026 North America

Beyond the Code: Human-AI Synergies in Product Development

Ajita Kanchivakam Ananth

Staff Technical Program Manager at Google

Ajita Kanchivakam Ananth
Open session

World Congress 2026 North America

The Productivity Illusion: What AI Really Changed for Developers

Fatih Kadir Akın

DevRel at WordPress • Automattician • GitHub Star • Public Speaker

Fatih Kadir Akın
Open session

World Congress 2026 North America

AI Agents are Only as Smart as their Context: Building a Real-Time Context Engine at Intuit

Bharat Patel

Lead Software Engineer at Intuit

Bharat Patel
Open session

World Congress 2026 North America

Building the AI Era Through Developer Communities: A Competitive Advantage for Engineers & Teams

John Komarnicki

National Executive Advisor at Code & Coffee | Engineering & AI Community Leader

John Komarnicki
Open session

World Congress 2026 North America

Ship 10x Faster: AI-Powered Development with Claude Code and MCP Tools

Viktoria Semaan

Principal Technical Evangelist at Databricks

Viktoria Semaan
Open session

World Congress 2026 North America

GitHub’s Team X-Ray: Your Repository Knows More About Your Team Than Your Team Does

Andrea Griffiths

Senior Developer Advocate

Andrea Griffiths

Related videos

Bridging the gap between design and development thumbnail
29:53
WWC 2024 • almost 2 years ago

Bridging the gap between design and development

Jade Jiang, Noga Mann

Designing the Future of Human<>Agent Collaboration thumbnail
28:24
WWC 2025 • 12 months ago

Designing the Future of Human<>Agent Collaboration

Emil Sjölander

Bridging the Gap thumbnail
6:16
WWC 2023 • almost 3 years ago

Bridging the Gap

Philipp Kremer

Building Collaborative Open Source tools for Developers and Designers - Pablo Ruiz-Muzquiz from Penpot thumbnail
56:24
Coffee With Developers • about 1 year ago

Building Collaborative Open Source tools for Developers and Designers - Pablo Ruiz-Muzquiz from Penpot

Pablo Ruiz-Muzquiz

NoCode LiveCode: Leveraging AI Tools to Craft Fully Functional Apps! thumbnail
4:58
almost 2 years ago

NoCode LiveCode: Leveraging AI Tools to Craft Fully Functional Apps!

Karan Shetti

Rendering Design Software in the Browser at Penpot thumbnail
52:04
Coffee With Developers • about 1 year ago

Rendering Design Software in the Browser at Penpot

Elena Torró

Related articles

From learning to earning

Jobs that call for the skills explored in this talk.