Let me guess: you opened Figma to “just tidy up a few screens,” and an hour later, you’re still renaming layers, drawing arrows between frames, and pasting fake emails that all suspiciously belong to “john.doe@…”
I’ve lived that many times. The good news? You don’t have to. With a smart set of tools and a few guardrails, you can automate the boring parts of design and keep your energy for the real work: understanding users, shaping flows, and telling stories through product.
Below are seven automation helpers we learn at UXGen Studio. I’ll explain what each one does, when to use it, and how we apply it inside client projects so your team can steal our playbook tomorrow morning.
1. Start with UI Kits & Component Libraries (Yes, that’s automation)
What it is: Think of UI kits as “pre-assembled Lego sets.” They’re ready-to-use components, styles, variables, and example screens you can pull into any project so you don’t spend the first week reinventing buttons and tables. Figma itself recommends UI kits to kick-start design—especially when you don’t have a design system yet.
Why it matters: A solid kit means faster consistency, fewer visual bugs, and a head start on responsive behavior. Even vendors will tell you that a good kit can massively compress time to first draft; the direction is clear—start from a system, not a blank file.
What we use: Depending on the brief, we’ll pull from curated kits or premium libraries (e.g., Untitled UI or similar) and then layer your brand variables on top. This turns “scattered components” into “your” system in hours, not weeks.
How UXGen Studio applies it:
- Kick off with a 1-day “systemization”: map your brand tokens (colors, type, spacing) to the kit, then publish a draft library your team can use immediately.
- Establish a “no net new component” rule for week one—force reuse to uncover gaps fast.
- Document exceptions in Dev Mode so engineering sees exactly what’s standardized vs. bespoke.
2. Content Reel — Realistic content, instantly
What it is: A Microsoft-born plugin that fills your designs with realistic names, emails, addresses, and more. No more “Lorem Ipsum” or five screens all starring “Test User.”
A tiny expert quote I love: “The more tools we integrate into our Fluent design system, the more useful our system becomes.” — Jackie Chui, UX designer at Microsoft, reflecting on custom plugins like Content Reel.
Why it matters: Realistic data surfaces design flaws early (overflow, truncation, localization issues). It’s also faster to demo—stakeholders take designs more seriously when the content looks alive, not pretend.
How UXGen Studio applies it:
- We maintain lists that mirror your product reality (Indian phone formats, PIN codes, business names, GST formats).
- During critiques, we switch between data “modes” (e.g., short names vs. extended, Latin vs. Devanagari) to stress-test edge cases.
- For sensitive organizations, we help teams mirror the Microsoft approach with private versions of Content Reel that only pull approved strings.
3. Autoflow — Connect screens without losing your mind
What it is: Select two frames; Autoflow draws clean connection lines between them. Perfect for quick user-journey maps, flow diagrams, or “how screens connect” slides without manual arrow-dragging.
Why it matters: Your canvas stays tidy. Your flows read clearly in reviews. And your time goes into designing the experience—not wrestling with line handles.
How UXGen Studio applies it:
- In discovery, we draft low-fidelity flow maps directly over the wireframes, then replace connectors as the IA stabilizes.
- We maintain consistent label conventions (“tap,” “system,” “error”) so that Product, QA, and Dev can read flows in the same way at a glance.
4. Similayer — Herd hundreds of layers with one click
What it is: Select any object, choose properties (fill, stroke, text style, radius, effects, etc.), and Similayer finds every matching element across your file. Think of it as “Select All With Same… on steroids.”
Why it matters: Bulk changes become trivial—update all your primary buttons’ corner radius in one go; find all text without styles; fix inconsistent shadows before hand-off. Even Figma’s community moderators recommend Similayer for these “find and fix” tasks.
How UXGen Studio applies it:
- Migration sprints: when we switch a product to a new theme or token set, Similayer is our scalpel.
- Pre-handoff pass: we run Similayer queries to verify that every text layer uses a style (no “rogue” formatting).
For a quick primer, this summary aligns with the plugin’s core pitch: ‘Takes ‘Select all with…’ to the next level.’
5. Iconify — 275,000+ open-source icons, imported as SVG
What it is: A free, open-source way to bring over 275,000 icons (Material, Feather, Font Awesome, and many more) straight into Figma—always as SVG. That means precise control, no raster artifacts, and smooth scaling.
What’s new & notable: Recent updates introduce quality-of-life improvements and workflows for animated icons (parsed to static for Figma; full SVG animations remain for production).
How UXGen Studio applies it:
- We define icon rules (stroke widths, corner radii, naming) and use Iconify to source consistent sets.
- For enterprise design systems, we import and normalize icons as tokens (size, stroke) so engineers get predictable SVGs across platforms.
- The plugin is open source; your security team can review it. if needed
6. FigGPT – Draft UX copy and ideas with AI (use it wisely)
What it is: A lightweight plugin that connects ChatGPT-style prompts into Figma so you can draft microcopy in place. It’s helpful for first-pass text, alt states, or swapping tone (“formal,” “friendly,” “Hindi-first”).
Why it matters: Designers procrastinate when they hit blank text fields. FigGPT unblocks you quickly—then you revise like a human. And yes, the research world is heading in the same direction: LLMs are increasingly used to automate parts of heuristic evaluation and provide feedback on mockups. (Promising, not perfect.)
How UXGen Studio applies it:
- Draft fast, edit slow. We generate options, then refine the language for brand clarity and accessibility.
- For regulated products, we route AI-drafted strings through your legal/UX writing workflows before anything ships.
- We also maintain a tone & voice prompt library (English + Hindi) so teams get consistent outputs from day one.
7. Design Lint — Catch inconsistencies before your PM does
What it is: A free, open-source linting plugin that scans files for missing styles (text, fill, stroke, effects), odd radii, and other “oops” moments that slip into large files.
Why it matters: You don’t want a stakeholder to notice that one rogue label using a system font or a single button with a 5px radius in a world of 6px. Design Lint catches that early. It’s open source (MIT), with a transparent repo if your team wants a security review or a private fork.
How UXGen Studio applies it:
- Pre-handoff lint: We Design Lint and log fixes in Dev Mode so engineers see that design debt was addressed, not ignored.
- Private forks: For enterprise clients, we create private builds with rules tuned to your design system, so linting teaches your standards as designers work.
A tiny story from our side
During a recent dashboard redesign, we began with a vetted UI kit. Then we utilized Similayer to migrate hundreds of instances to the new token set—content Reel filled realistic Indian addresses and mobile formats, which instantly revealed overflow issues on 360-px devices. Iconify standardized our iconography. Design Lint caught a few stray text styles that snuck in during a late-night sprint. The net feeling? Less trash. More clarity. And a review where stakeholders discussed flows and outcomes, not whether our shadows matched.
How UXGen Studio helps your org “switch on” Figma automation
- Automation audit (2–3 days): We’ll review your files and workflows, then recommend a curated plugin stack and UI kit strategy tailored to your constraints (security, procurement, regulated content).
- Private, safe plugins: Where helpful, we set up private forks (e.g., a private Design Lint or Content Reel) so your data and brand strings stay internal.
- Governance & training: Short workshops: “Automation etiquette,” “Bulk-edit safely with Similayer,” “From kit to system in one day,” and “AI copy: draft responsibly.”
- Design-to-Dev handoff glow-up: We combine linting + flow clarity so devs get consistent tokens, fewer surprises, and faster PRs.
- Bilingual workflows: For Indian audiences, we stress-test English/Hindi toggles early (Content Reel data packs + layout checks) so localization is an input, not an afterthought.
Practical guardrails (learned the hard way)
- Automation ≠ autopilot. These tools speed you up—but they won’t make taste decisions for you. Maintain a clear hierarchy, spacing, and language. (I agree with the reminder from Ryan’s article—tools help, judgment leads.)
- Name things well. “Automation” collapses if you can’t find components later. Commit to naming conventions before you scale.
- One tiny rule: If you create a one-off variant “just for this screen,” log why (and when it can be retired). Future-you will thank you.
FAQs
1. Are these plugins and kits free?
Many are free (Design Lint, Iconify). Some UI kits are paid. Start with Figma’s own curated UI kits and community templates if you’re budget-constrained, then invest where ROI is obvious.
2. Are plugins safe to use in an enterprise?
It depends. Favor open-source plugins (with reviewable code) and consider private forks for sensitive data or rules unique to your system—just as Microsoft does with Content Reel. Your security team can review the codebase and approve allowlists.
3. Will AI (like FigGPT) make my team lazy?
Only if you let it, we use AI to break “blank page syndrome,” then rewrite with intent. Research shows LLM feedback can be helpful, but it’s not perfect—humans still make the final call.
4. We already have a design system. Do we still need a UI kit?
Yes—treat a kit as a starter or accelerator. Even with a system, kits help new hires, speed explorations, and keep variants consistent across features.
5. What’s the one shortcut that changes everything?
Map your brand tokens to a base kit on day one. Then run Similayer and Design Lint before every handoff. The combination prevents most “why is this different?” surprises.
Sources & further reading
- Ryan Almeida’s overview —practical jumping-off point for tool ideas. Medium
- Figma Help Center: Start Designing with UI Kits — What Are They and Why Do They Matter? Figma Help Center
- Figma Blog: Plugins to help you design with real content — why realistic data beats lorem ipsum (includes Content Reel). Figma
- Figma Blog: How Microsoft built plugins to improve their workflow — internal/private plugin strategy; Content Reel origins and quote. Figma
- Autoflow: how-to guide — fast connectors for flows and user journeys. OFFICE HANAI
- Similayer explainer — “Select all with…” on steroids. Figma Elements
- Iconify docs — 275k+ icons, always imported as SVG; open-source plugin. Iconify.designGitHub
- Design Lint — official site + GitHub (MIT, open source). lintyour.designGitHub
Research: Automatic UI feedback with LLMs — where AI-assisted design critique is headed.