One of the easiest ways to improve your collaboration with product managers and engineers is to improve your design handoff files. - It doesn’t take a lot of time - It drastically improves how people interpret your designs - It reduces backs and forths between engineers and designers - It gives engineers confidence that they are doing the right thing - It increases the chances that what’s implemented will match the design Great handoff files, for me, are an instant sign of design maturity. It shows me that designers think not only of themselves but also the ecosystem of people around them. Coming up with great handoffs boils down to the following: - Setting context - Adding structure - Adding annotations - Including all states - Visualizing the flow - Including a prototype - Doing a run-through Not everything is required for every design initiative; a small feature update may not need a full handoff, whereas a big, impactful one may require everything from the above. In this cheat sheet, I’ve put together my top tips for delivering the “perfect” handoff file. Bonus: I have also created a Figma Annotation and handoff kit with handy components for the above. Find the link in the comments. 👇 — If you found this useful, consider reposting ♻️ PS: By handoff I'm not referring to the process of handing over a design, which should be a collaborative process from problem to solution, but rather the organized design file that is the single source of truth for what needs to be implemented. #uxdesign #uiux #productdesign
In my honest opinion, collaboration has nothing to do with handoffs. Infact handing designs off feels quite cold and the opposite of the ‘relationship’ a collaboration can create. To improve how you work with product managers, try a pairing session and bring them into the design and decision making process. 🥰
Great post. Beyond creating a sound spec framework, designers need to be persistent in following up with PM’s and Eng. they will always assume things that are missed in the spec resulting in designs being developed wrong. Churn. Specs are not the final thing in the process. Constant design reviews and holding developers accountable for delivering on the spec is a real sign of a mature designer who is committed to get their vision built.
Well said! Effective design handoff files are crucial for seamless collaboration with product managers and engineers. Your breakdown of essential elements - setting context, structure, annotations, states, flow visualization, prototypes, and run-throughs - is spot on. Love the emphasis on design maturity and considering the ecosystem. Your cheat sheet and Figma Annotation kit will undoubtedly help many designers elevate their handoff game!
Handoff files keep communication clean and easy. Agree on this!
Nice! Mine looks similar! Only difference mainly is adding where to find these on the pages and how to name/order pages. This looks clean! 🙌 Filippos Protogeridis Here is my riff, feel free to keep expanding/riff/or destroy it. https://www.figma.com/design/enDG0bTKk5EmL0DY4HhnYW/FIle-Organization-For-Handoff-Template?node-id=2002-9164&t=1QQiqzIFtlVxLqbg-1
enthusiastically agreed, ive been practicing very similar hand-off process i put tgt learning from my previous experiences both the bad n good 😅 , and it has been very very useful.
This week, I reviewed my team's handoff process, and your tips really highlight the importance of having well-structured design files! ✨
thanks for sharing, it's great! I've been wondering about the best way not just to deliver a good handoff but also the documentation. do you have specific advice for those?
I’m using this and loving it! already getting good feedbacks from the developers! thank you so much
Product Design Leader | On a mission to help 100k people in becoming product designers | Healthtech
1moGet the Figma handoff kit https://designary.gumroad.com/l/figma-annotation-handoff-kit