Figmas not a design toolits a Rube Goldberg machine for avoidingcodeThe absurdity of spending countless hours crafting interactive designs in a medium no one will everuse.Image source: artsy.netSomewhere, a designer is meticulously adjusting auto-layout settings in Figmacrafting an intricate set of nested components, master variants, and esoteric constraintsall to simulate the behavior of a simplebutton.They pat themselves on the back, believing theyve mastered digital design. Meanwhile, a developer glances at the file, sighs, and codes the button in fiveminutes.This, my friends, is the state of design todaya profession increasingly dominated by individuals who have convinced themselves that learning to code is beneath them, but will spend hours constructing elaborate and needlessly complex prototypes in Figmalike someone determined to build a Rube Goldberg machine to flip a pancake, all because they refuse to touch aspatula.Image source: https://mymodernmet.com/modern-rube-goldberg-machine/For those who dont know, a Rube Goldberg machine is a deliberately complicated and impractical contraption built to perform a simple task in the most indirect way imaginablelike setting off a series of dominoes, gears, levers, and pulleys just to pour a cup of coffee. Sure, it works in theory, but its needlessly complicated, inefficient, and disconnected from how things function inreality.Similarly, designers crafting elaborate prototypes in Figma to mimic basic digital interactions are essentially building digital Rube Goldberg machines. If youre going to spend hours creating intricate simulations in Figma, you might as well put that effort directly into codebecause in the end, code is where your designs must ultimately function.The cognitive dissonance of no-code designersA funny thing has happened in the design world. While other technical fields are expanding their skill setsmarketers are learning SQL and Python to better analyze data and automate tasks, product managers are embracing programming languages to enhance collaboration with developers, and copywriters are using automation to streamline content creationsome designers seem to be moving in the opposite direction.Instead of embracing even a rudimentary understanding of HTML, CSS, or JavaScript, designers have retreated into a fortress of abstraction. Theyll tweak their Figma files endlessly, push back on any technical constraints, and then smugly hand over their perfect designonly to be baffled when development comes back with a hundred questions about feasibility.The irony? Ive seen designers on Reddit complain about how developers never implement their vision correctly.NewsflashIf you dont understand even basic developer language, dont be surprised when your work gets lost in translation.The myth of the puredesignerThe argument against learning code often goes something likethis:Designers should focus on design. Learning code limits creativity. Its not our job to worry about development.Cute sentiment. But heres the problemdesign, at its core, has always been constrained by medium and execution. Architects dont just sketch fantasy structures and expect engineers to figure it out. Industrial designers dont just create wild, unbuildable chair concepts and assume factories will make itwork.And yet, digital designers somehow believe they are the exceptionthat they can create whatever they want in Figma and just toss it over thewall.A pure designer who refuses to learn code is like a playwright who refuses to understand how a stage works. Sure, you can write grandiose scenes where a castle explodes into fireworks while a dragon skydives through the wreckage, but dont be shocked when the director hands your script back and says, Yeah, we cant dothat.Figma masterythe designers securityblanketLets be clearFigma is a fantastic tool. But the obsession with making it the toolturning it into an entire ecosystem where designers never have to interact with codeis a symptom of a deeperproblem.I get itIm old enough to remember when Flash was the Figma of its time, and I loved it. I could build entire websites without touching a line of code. Unlike Figma, though, we could actually publish those sites without rebuilding them elsewhere.But when Flash was killed off, I learned to codeand that turned out to be a great thing. It gave me an invaluable skill that allows me to create and communicate in the digital space with a level of precision and fluency I wouldnt trade for anything.Image source: thenounproject.comThe industry has coddled digital designers into thinking they can exist in a bubble of vector shapes and auto-layouts, building increasingly complex systems of components, design tokens, and variantsall while actively avoiding the fundamental principles of the medium they are designing for.Imagine a chef who refuses to touch a stove but insists they should still be in charge of the restaurants menu. Or a car designer who never bothers to learn about aerodynamics. Thats what a Figma-only designer isa person who obsesses over visual perfection but has no grasp of how their work will actually function in the realworld.The fear of coding usually stems from uncertainty, not complexityLets not sugarcoat itlearning code isnt hard. This isnt about becoming a full-stack engineer or writing production-level React components. Were talking about basic web literacyunderstanding how CSS affects layout, why JavaScript controls interactivity, and how browsers actually renderdesign.But too many designers cling to the excuse that learning code is too technical, too left-brained, or not creative enough. And yet, these same people will gleefully spend hours wrestling with Figmas prototype settings, constructing elaborate, component libraries that require a PhD to decipher.So lets call it what it isfear. Not of the code itself, but of being held accountable. I get it, Ive been there. When I first started, coding felt like this huge, scary thing. Because once you actually understand how it works, you cant just blame developers for your designs fallingapart.Image source:RedditTime to grow up, designersDesign is a craft. And a real craftsperson understands the tools, materials, and constraints of their trade. Digital designers who refuse to learn even the basics of front-end development are like architects who have never set foot on a construction site. They are spectators in their own professioncontent to create artifacts, rather than real, usable products.So, if youre a designer who still thinks code isnt your concern, heres my advicedrop the Rube Goldberg act, pick up the damn spatula, and start cooking. You might just find that the pancakes turns outbetter.Dont miss out! Join my email list and receive the latestcontent.Figmas not a design toolits a Rube Goldberg machine for avoiding code was originally published in UX Collective on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.