/ 12.03.24
Top 5 Figma plugins for a smooth UI and data visualisation design process
While Figma provides an excellent foundation for our diverse range of tasks - from data storytelling to interactive data tools and websites - we enhance our design process with a selection of impressive third-party tools and plugins to improve efficiency and productivity.
Navigating the crowded landscape of third-party plugins can be daunting, making it challenging to identify the most suitable tools for your specific needs. To streamline this process, we've compiled a list of the top five plugins that we rely on extensively at SOAK, spanning a wide range of projects. While we utilise additional plugins, these particular tools consistently support our ongoing projects.
1. Chart
As a digital and data agency, Chart is a fantastic tool in helping us create several chart types, quickly and accurately, across various data visualisation projects. It can generate 18 different chart types using either real or randomised data. It also gives us full creative control of the styling of the charts, from colours, fonts, size and shape, with extensive flexibility to create visualisations unique to the project we are working on.
An impressive feature is that Chart seamlessly integrates with various data sources, including Excel, Google Sheets and REST APIs, allowing for simple data importation. Other great features include the creation of multiple chart instances, the generation of random data with diverse trends and the capability to edit and update charts effortlessly.
2. Attention Insight
The Attention Insight plugin is an insightful tool that is essential for our UX and user journey process at SOAK. The tool instantly predicts where users will look after interacting with our designs and effectively anticipates user behaviour to help streamline our process. This is great at helping us preemptively address potential issues, saving valuable time and avoiding post-launch fixes. The plugin also allows for smooth A/B testing, item visibility and identifying components that draw the most amount of attention.
3. A11y - Colour Contrast Checker
Colour Contrast Checker is a fantastic asset for ensuring all text within our projects adheres to web content accessibility standards. It can sometimes be tricky to manage accessibility when expressing ourselves creatively so this plugin is an incredibly useful addition to help keep our projects legible and clear. It works by checking the contrast ratio of visible text within a frame, providing scores in line with AA and/or AAA compliance.
4. Pitchdeck Presentation Studio
The Pitchdeck Presentation Studio plugin is a fantastic tool for presentation creation in Figma, offering intuitive support for animations and real-time previews within the platform. With seamless export options to PowerPoint, Keynote, Google Slides, and PDFs, we can export and share presentations with ease, across a variety of use cases.
Pitchdeck allows us to create custom-designed presentations away from the restraints of PowerPoint or Google Slides, ensuring creativity is at the heart of every presentation we create.
5. Coolors
Coolors is a handy colour palette generator plugin which boasts an extensive database of colour combinations that are quick and easy to access. This plugin is particularly useful when we engage with complex data visualisation designs that require a broad range of colours to reflect a variety of data points, but also work in an aesthetically pleasing manner.
Coolors helps us to create beautiful colour palettes that compliment our client’s brand and create maximum contrast in data visualisation.