Pixelic: Collaborative UX with Figma and Slack

by Taylor Slattery | August 13, 2020

Workplaces have become increasingly digital environments. With the adaptation of new tools and our increasing connectivity, the way we work together has seen a large shift over the past few decades. Recently, COVID-19 served to rapidly accelerate this process. Traditional approaches toward project management and team-based tasks became impossible. Responses to the crisis have varied, with some companies being stretched thin and others realizing just how much dead weight they’ve been carrying. What has remained true across the board is the importance of communication.

Breakdowns in communication can be costly. With more people working from home, the delegation of tasks and tracking of accountability have become increasingly difficult. Now more than ever staying on the same page is crucial.

Pixelic addresses this need by serving as a bridge between 2 popular software. It taps into the pre-existing Slack environment common to many workplaces and merges it with the functionality of Figma. The result is a platform that allows teams to collaborate on designs in a single, seamless location.

Feedback is a critical part of the design process. We need the opinions of others to balance our own and arrive at the best possible product for our users. Sharing different versions of Figma files can quickly get out of hand. It becomes difficult to track revisions and keep all of the team members on the same page. Pixelic allows for the direct export of Figma files to Slack. Those in the channel can then leave comments, which are synced with Pixelic, so members are kept up to date, regardless of which environment they use.

This format allows for progress to be made in a linear fashion, while conveniently keeping a chronological history of all feedback and revisions. Those using Pixelic have the added ability of using annotations to mark specific areas of the design. By highlighting the portion of the design in question, it becomes easier to understand changes upon review.

Comments made both within Slack and Pixelic can be turned into tasks. These are stored on a separate board, where they can be assigned to specific users for completion. All actions between Pixelic and Slack are synced both ways, so the team is always kept up to date on the most current version of the project.

Revisions and their associated comments are stored side by side, making it easy to browse the history of the project and review the decisions that led to the current version. Access to past versions in a neatly organized timeline also makes it easy to revisit a previous iteration if you stray too far from your intended direction.

Comments can also be stored as groups, so even if you miss out on the conversation, you won’t miss out on the context necessary to understand the latest tasks. Once the necessary changes have been made, files can be uploaded locally, via the Figma plugin, or directly through your Chrome browser.

Plans are available at $12 per editor with unlimited access for guests and Slack members. If you would like to learn more, be sure to check out the Pixelic site here.

Taylor is the Managing Editor of Notes on Design. Taylor is a graphic designer, illustrator, and Design Lead at Weirdsleep.

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