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I'm on Linux, so the only way to use Figma is in the browser. Everytime I use it, I'm astonished at what can be done with a web app — and makes me wonder: why

I'm on Linux, so the only way to use Figma is in the browser. Everytime I use it, I'm astonished at what can be done with a web app — and makes me wonder: why didn't Adobe make a web version of Illustrator or inDesign?

_boffin_ 5y ago
I'd love to see web apps handle multi-gigabyte file workloads that have the ability to dynamically link in other assets that can be just as large.
sonofhans 5y ago
It's a perfect example of the Innovator's Dilemma -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Innovator%27s_Dilemma https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Innovator%27s_Dilemma I'm not trying to shill for the book, but it coined the phrase and elucidates it well. Roughly: new technology often doesn't enable much functionality that legacy technology already does. This is seen as an advantage by both sides. In truth, it's often an advantage for new tech, because new tech has advantages which old tech lacks. WRT Adobe, there are certainly huge swaths of their product plans which are impossible with web-based tech. So web-based tech looks crappy to them. They've downplayed and ignored the advantages of web-based tech. By the time these advantages start biting them in the market they're a decade behind, and will have to build expertise in new tech in order to catch up. Most companies cannot do this.
nbzso 5y ago
Actually there is unofficial Figma-linux flatpak/snap package which is functional. But it is like other "local" web-apps for Windows and Mac. I hate SaaS model and I hate online only approach. But since pandemic started this is practically the only option for collaborative design. We use Sketch/Affinity for things that we want to have available offline and recreate in Figma for hand-off and communication. If Figma had offline workflow it will evaporate Sketch and other tools from marketplace. But actually this will not happen. It is cheaper for them to work on one unified code-base. Actually Framer also moved to this direction.

_boffin_ 5y ago

I'd love to see web apps handle multi-gigabyte file workloads that have the ability to dynamically link in other assets that can be just as large.

sonofhans 5y ago

It's a perfect example of the Innovator's Dilemma -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Innovator%27s_Dilemma https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Innovator%27s_Dilemma I'm not trying to shill for the book, but it coined the phrase and elucidates it well. Roughly: new technology often doesn't enable much functionality that legacy technology already does. This is seen as an advantage by both sides. In truth, it's often an advantage for new tech, because new tech has advantages which old tech lacks. WRT Adobe, there are certainly huge swaths of their product plans which are impossible with web-based tech. So web-based tech looks crappy to them. They've downplayed and ignored the advantages of web-based tech. By the time these advantages start biting them in the market they're a decade behind, and will have to build expertise in new tech in order to catch up. Most companies cannot do this.

nbzso 5y ago

Actually there is unofficial Figma-linux flatpak/snap package which is functional. But it is like other "local" web-apps for Windows and Mac. I hate SaaS model and I hate online only approach. But since pandemic started this is practically the only option for collaborative design. We use Sketch/Affinity for things that we want to have available offline and recreate in Figma for hand-off and communication. If Figma had offline workflow it will evaporate Sketch and other tools from marketplace. But actually this will not happen. It is cheaper for them to work on one unified code-base. Actually Framer also moved to this direction.