TIMELINE
4 WEEKS
TEAM:
ME, 1 ENGINEER, 1 PRODUCT MANAGER
ROLE:
PRODUCT DESIGN, USER RESEARCH
Donut for Figjam
Donut for Figjam
Donut for Figjam
The final product in action.
(Video courtesy of the Figma team.)
TL;DR
As part of a collaboration between Donut and Figma, I designed an interactive FigJam widget that helped teams kick off meetings with fun, low-pressure activities. Working under tight deadlines and technical limitations, I developed a set of nine exercises that leveraged existing FigJam features like the pen tool and timer, making the experience feel seamless and native.
We launched a multi-exercise MVP to learn what would stick, and the widget reached over 30K downloads in the first six months. This project reinforced the power of quick experimentation, lightweight UX, and cross-brand collaboration.
The final product in action. (Video courtesy of the Figma team.)
Context
Context
Figma was gearing up to launch Widgets for FigJam, their multiplayer whiteboard, and they wanted Donut on board to help bring a social, playful vibe to the product. Our brand was a perfect fit.
For Donut, it was a great way to reach new users. For me, as someone who had admired Figma for years and was already jamming in FigJam, it was a dream project and an absolute honor to take on.
I led the design efforts in this project and collaborated with an engineer and a product manager.
Figma was gearing up to launch Widgets for FigJam, their multiplayer whiteboard, and they wanted Donut on board to help bring a social, playful vibe to the product. Our brand was a perfect fit.
For Donut, it was a great way to reach new users. For me, as someone who had admired Figma for years and was already jamming in FigJam, it was a dream project and an absolute honor to take on.
I led the design efforts in this project and collaborated with an engineer and a product manager.
TL;DR
As part of a collaboration between Donut and Figma, I designed an interactive FigJam widget that helped teams kick off meetings with fun, low-pressure activities. Working under tight deadlines and technical limitations, I developed a set of nine exercises that leveraged existing FigJam features like the pen tool and timer, making the experience feel seamless and native.
We launched a multi-exercise MVP to learn what would stick, and the widget reached over 30K downloads in the first six months. This project reinforced the power of quick experimentation, lightweight UX, and cross-brand collaboration.
Challenge
Challenge
Figma wanted to bring Donut’s Watercooler into FigJam, a quick way to break the ice before jam sessions. It made perfect sense on paper: two tools built around collaboration and creativity.
But I felt we could do more.
Rather than simply transplanting Watercooler, I wanted to explore how Donut’s spirit: connection, play, and culture, could come to life within FigJam. What would make this partnership feel mutual, not just functional?
We had a tight one-month timeline and no room for formal research. Luckily, we were already avid FigJam users, so the entire Donut team became our live testing lab.
Donut's Watercooler, for context (Video courtesy of Donut)
This was how Figma imagined Donut's Watercooler as a FigJam widget.
This was how Figma imagined Donut's Watercooler as a FigJam widget.
Figma wanted to bring Donut’s Watercooler into FigJam, a quick way to break the ice before jam sessions. It made perfect sense on paper: two tools built around collaboration and creativity.
But I felt we could do more.
Rather than simply transplanting Watercooler, I wanted to explore how Donut’s spirit: connection, play, and culture, could come to life within FigJam. What would make this partnership feel mutual, not just functional?
We had a tight one-month timeline and no room for formal research. Luckily, we were already avid FigJam users, so the entire Donut team became our live testing lab.
Donut's Watercooler, for context
(Video courtesy of Donut)
Ideation
Designing from the Mission
Building on Figma’s foundation posed a creative challenge: Should we prioritize productivity, social connection, or chart a new path entirely? I felt like I was right in the middle of endless possibilities and logistical constraints.
The breakthrough came when I reframed the product through the lens of context. FigJam is fundamentally a space for collaborative ideation, an area that deeply aligns with Donut’s core mission. That alignment sparked an idea: what if Donut leaned further into creative collaboration?
That’s how the concept of creative warmups was born, inspired by IDEO’s ideation rituals and my own experiences in creative teams. I envisioned a digital take on those energizing exercises that kickstart teamwork and unlock flow.
Building on Figma’s foundation posed a creative challenge: Should we prioritize productivity, social connection, or chart a new path entirely? I felt like I was right in the middle of endless possibilities and logistical constraints.
The breakthrough came when I reframed the product through the lens of context. FigJam is fundamentally a space for collaborative ideation,an area that deeply aligns with Donut’s core mission. That alignment sparked an idea: what if Donut leaned further into creative collaboration?
That’s how the concept of creative warmups was born, inspired by IDEO’s ideation rituals and my own experiences in creative teams. I envisioned a digital take on those energizing exercises that kickstart teamwork and unlock flow.
A scratchpad documenting a few of my ideas for Donut's Figjam widget. Written on Figma!
A scratchpad documenting a few of my ideas for Donut's Figjam widget. Written on Figma!
Prototyping through Play
Prototyping through Play
As a team, we shared our favorite creative warmups and voted on the ones we felt could best translate into a Donut widget. We balanced those ideas with technical feasibility, iterating until we landed on a direction that felt both impactful and buildable.
As a team, we shared our favorite creative warmups and voted on the ones we felt could best translate into a Donut widget. We balanced those ideas with technical feasibility, iterating until we landed on a direction that felt both impactful and feasible.
Different explorations of the Donut widget. Click one to learn more!
Different explorations of the Donut widget.
Click one to learn more!
Some explorations for the timer UI. I had a lot of fun designing these! However, time and technical constraints forced the team to use FigJam's native timer.
Final Design
Final Design
I explored what was technically feasible in a turn-based format and landed on nine exercises, some of which cleverly leveraged existing FigJam features like the pen tool and timer, making games like FigDraw feel native and intuitive. It also allowed us to cut scope without losing functionality, which was crucial given the short timeline.
There was some tension between Product and Design around scope. I initially advocated for fewer exercises to reduce potential user confusion, but without time for user research or usability testing, I wasn't certain on which exercises to keep so I had to rely on instinct. In the end, we aligned on breadth over focus, keeping all 9 exercises and accepting that some initial ambiguity was an acceptable risk, and to let real world usage tell us which exercises are worth keeping for v2.
We ultimately chose a multi-exercise widget because we lacked certainty around which activities would resonate with the FigJam audience. Rather than over-optimize early, we opted to give users a broad menu in v1 and planned to refine based on usage data. I explored what was technically feasible in a turn-based format and landed on nine exercises, some of which cleverly leveraged existing FigJam features like the pen tool and timer, making games like FigDraw feel native and intuitive. It also allowed us to cut scope without losing functionality, which was crucial given the short timeline.
There was some tension between Product and Design around scope. I initially advocated for fewer exercises to reduce potential user confusion, but without time for user research or usability testing, I wasn't certain on which exercises to keep so I had to rely on instinct. In the end, we aligned on breadth over focus, keeping all 9 exercises and accepting that some initial ambiguity was an acceptable risk, and to let real world usage tell us which exercises are worth keeping for v2.
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Learnings
Learnings
Designing a widget within an existing tool for the first time pushed me to work within tight technical and time constraints. With a fast-moving schedule, the process felt less like a traditional design-to-dev handoff and more like collaborative, real-time problem-solving, closer to pair programming than a typical sprint cycle.
This pace challenged me to break down the design into buildable components and prioritize what could be implemented immediately. It often felt like that saying "building the plane as we're flying", but that constraint pushed me to be more creative, flexible, and pragmatic in how I approached both design, communication, and collaboration.
GRAFITI
Building and growing a data visualization search tool to 30K MAU
30,000
MAU
-31%
BOUNCE RATE
+50%
REPEAT USERS
TRIP TIP
Making sharing travel tips among friends easier (0-1)
DONUT
Redesigning an onboarding flow, helping increase trial-to-paid conversion by 10%
+10%
TRIAL TO PAID
CONVERSION
+33%
PRODUCT
INSTALLS
+10%
RETENTION
RATES