Interested in understanding the challenges and opportunities of design in Brazil, Figma — a design and development platform for people building apps, websites, and other digital products together — conducted a survey with professionals in the field, and one of the findings concerns the increasingly strategic role that design is playing in companies. Almost half of the respondents (47%) stated that they are directly involved in defining the product, strategy, and business vision, while 26% said they are consulted on some decisions, even though design usually enters the process after the scope has already been defined.
The importance of the area is further reinforced by the perception of leadership and other teams. According to 91% of participants, people somehow recognize the value that design adds to the company's results — a fact that consolidates the importance of these professionals beyond visual execution. "Design has become a strategic differentiator — whether in Brazilian startups creating innovative digital experiences or in large companies scaling their design systems to meet growing demand," explains Yuhki Yamashita, Chief Product Officer of Figma.
The data was presented this Wednesday (07/02) during an event in São Paulo, which brought together members of the local community, digital ecosystem leaders, and clients such as Nubank, Ifood, Mercado Livre, and Itaú. The meeting marked a strategic step in consolidating Figma in Latin America, with the announcement of the Spanish version focused on the countries in the region, following the recent launch of the Brazilian Portuguese version.
The survey, conducted in partnership with MindMiners, interviewed 300 Brazilian professionals in leadership positions in the fields of design, engineering, and product. The goal was to understand how artificial intelligence is being integrated into local companies and to map the misalignments and contradictions that still characterize its practical application.
The tools behind the result
In May, the platform announced the full localization of its product for Brazilian Portuguese. "Latin America is a vibrant hub of creativity and design talent," says Débora Mioranzza, Head for Latin America at Figma. We are getting even closer to our community and offering a fully localized product so that companies across the region can create the best digital experiences for their audiences.
The new version includes the full translation of the interface, cultural adaptations, and dedicated support in Portuguese, which should facilitate adoption by new users and reduce barriers in daily use. This is because the research also showed that 31% agree that the use of English limits the adoption of a design tool or requires additional effort from the team.
The relationship between design and AI
Although this innovation is already present in almost 90% of companies, when the survey investigated the level of maturity in design, the results showed quite a variation. Today, only 16% indicate having widespread and consistent integration of artificial intelligence in their workflows, and 13% signal structured use in parts of the design process.
On the other hand, 32% of respondents say that AI is still in the exploratory phase in their work, with sporadic testing; while 27% have some applications in use but without structured processes. In other words, although this technology is already part of the scene, there is still a long way to go until its full and mature adoption in Brazilian design.
Part of this can be explained by the fact that the balance between organizational support and team training is still not fully achieved in many companies. According to the survey, 55% of respondents indicate that their companies offer adequate support and resources, and have trained teams to apply AI in daily design. This group meets the two necessary conditions for a consistent application of the technology.
However, 45% of respondents still report some degree of misalignment between the organizational structure and team readiness.
- 25% state that the company already provides support and resources, but the team is not yet fully trained.
- 11% indicate the opposite scenario: the team already has knowledge and skills, but the organization still lacks sufficient support and infrastructure.
- 4% have simultaneous deficiencies — both in training and organizational support.
- 5% say that the topic has not yet been discussed internally or that they do not know how to answer the question.
However, when these two conditions are met, it is expected to solve another challenge identified by the research: the better use of time.
In fact, during Config 2025, Figma announced a new generation of products focused on artificial intelligence precisely to address this challenge. Figma Make, for example, allows creating prototypes from natural language descriptions, while Figma Sites eliminates technical steps by enabling a single person to create and publish a complete website without leaving the platform.
Wasted resource
According to 64% of respondents, a large or significant part of the work routine is still consumed by repetitive tasks, and only 9% indicate that most of the time is dedicated to creative or analytical activities.
This disconnect is even more curious when contrasted with the positive perception expressed about AI: 83% of designers say that AI significantly increases the efficiency of their work. Furthermore, 82% agree that this innovation allows them to dedicate more time to improving their professional specialty.
This means that, even with a high recognition of the technology's potential to increase efficiency and free up time for higher-value activities, the daily design work appears to be largely dominated by repetitive operational demands. The exit? Advance the consolidation of AI as a foundational part of the design process — with integrated tools, ongoing training, and clear organizational support.
The new features introduced by the platform also address this productivity bottleneck. Figma Buzz, for example, was developed for marketing teams that need to produce pieces at scale, with visual consistency and lower operational load. The Grid automates the generation of CSS code and facilitates the handoff between design and development.
