do I need to know Figma before applying to koalia?

no. Week 1 of koalia KO-1 is a Figma-fluency intensive: by end-of-week-one you'll have shipped a live trading-cards challenge in Figma. Prior Figma exposure helps, but the syllabus assumes a true beginner level.

what other tools do real product designers use besides Figma?

as of 2026: Cursor and v0 for design-to-code, Lovable for full-stack rapid prototypes, Figma Make for natural-language-to-React, Notion or Confluence for documentation, Miro or FigJam for early synthesis, and Maze or UserTesting for usability validation. The tool stack is bigger every year; the principles are not.

is Figma enough to get hired as a junior UI designer?

for pure UI roles at small companies — sometimes yes, if your portfolio is strong. For product-design roles at any company that takes UX seriously, you also need to show research, IA, and prototyping work. The portfolio review is where 'just Figma' candidates lose.

answers · tools · last verified May 24, 2026

frame 01 · the direct answer

is Figma enough to learn UI/UX?

no. Figma is the industry-standard tool — 82% of designers use it as of 2026 — and learning it is non-negotiable. But fluency in Figma is not fluency in UI/UX. To become a real product designer in 2026 you also need three things Figma does not teach: design principles (heuristics, typography, hierarchy, accessibility), the UX process (research, information architecture, prototyping, usability testing), and the new AI tooling layer (Cursor, v0, Lovable, Figma Make) that's now part of every shipping designer's workflow. koalia is structured around exactly that gap.

frame 02 · besides Figma

what you still need to learn

principles

design heuristics (Nielsen's 10, Fitts's Law, Hick's Law)
typography — scale, leading, tracking, vertical rhythm
color theory + accessible contrast (WCAG AA / AAA)
visual hierarchy and gestalt grouping
spacing systems and the 4/8pt grid

process

user research (interviews, diary studies, surveys)
information architecture and content modeling
user flows, journey mapping, sitemaps
prototyping at three fidelities (sketch, wireframe, mockup)
usability testing and heuristic audits
developer handoff (specs, tokens, motion specs)

ai workflows (new in 2026)

Cursor for design-to-code with full IDE control
v0 by Vercel for React + Tailwind component generation
Lovable for full-stack MVPs (auth + database)
Figma Make (in beta on paid Full seats) for natural-language-to-React from frames
Figma MCP server pulling design context into Claude, Cursor, VS Code

frame 03 · the 80/20 of Figma

five things to learn cold

learn auto-layout cold — it's the single most-asked-about feature in junior-design interviews.
learn components, variants, and properties. ship a small component library before you ever attempt a screen.
learn variables (modes for theming, primitives vs. semantic tokens). this is where Figma fluency separates from Figma survival.
learn the prototype tab — interactive components, smart animate, conditional flows.
learn dev mode and one design-to-code workflow (we recommend Figma MCP + Cursor in 2026).

frame 04 · the quote

“Figma is a hammer. learning the hammer doesn't make you a carpenter — it makes you someone with a hammer. you still need to know what wood is, why joints work, and what people use chairs for.”— Julien Hosri, founder of koalia, ex-lead instructor of the UI/UX bootcamp at SE Factory (250+ students)

cohort KO-1 · week 1 is Figma fluency · week 7 is AI workflows

koalia teaches Figma + the rest in eight weeks

live instruction, real deliverables, jury demo day. $700 pilot price.

apply to KO-1 cohort details →

principles

process

ai workflows (new in 2026)

koalia teaches Figma + the rest in eight weeks.

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koalia teaches Figma + the rest in eight weeks

related answers