The Product Podcast

Figma CEO on Design, Product, Engineering: Blurring the Lines in the AI Era | Dylan Field | E276


Listen Later

In this episode, Carlos Gonzalez de Villaumbrosia interviews Dylan Field, Co-founder and CEO of Figma, the collaborative design platform powering the product development process at companies like Microsoft, Google, and Airbnb. Since launching in 2012, Figma has grown from a browser-based design tool into a multi-product ecosystem spanning design, whiteboarding, presentations, and AI workflows.

Dylan shares the product and org strategy behind Figma’s evolution—from a single design surface to a platform that now includes Figma Make, Slides, Dev Mode, Sites, Draw, and more. He explains how Figma is building toward a world where anyone—not just designers—can move from idea to execution faster, and why “good enough is no longer enough” when it comes to design in the AI era.

In this conversation, Dylan goes deep on building communities around products, the value of product leaders embracing design as a strategic differentiator, and how Figma is thinking beyond prompts to redefine human-AI interaction. He also shares lessons from product expansion, building for non-designer users, and how he still carves out time to jailbreak LLMs and test prototypes hands-on.

What you’ll learn:

  • How Dylan shaped Figma into a multi-product platform that merges code, design, and collaboration.
  • Why FigJam's “fun” factor was a deliberate strategic decision—and how it saved the product.
  • How Figma is integrating with ChatGPT and third-party data tools to redefine surface area and workflow.
  • The case for design-led thinking across every function of a modern product team.

Key Takeaways 👇

  • Design as Strategy: Why Dylan believes design is at the top of the software value stack—and how product leaders can use it to differentiate and win.
  • From Prompt to Platform: Figma’s vision for bridging AI-native workflows, intuitive UX, and agent-powered collaboration.
  • Org Design for Multi-Product Teams: Lessons in org structure, adoption measurement, and how to know when a feature becomes a standalone product.

Credits:
Host: Carlos Gonzalez de Villaumbrosia
Guest: Dylan Field

Social Links:

  • Follow our Podcast on Tik Tok here
  • Follow Product School on LinkedIn here
  • Join Product School's free events here
  • Find out more about Product School here
...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

The Product PodcastBy Product School

  • 4.3
  • 4.3
  • 4.3
  • 4.3
  • 4.3

4.3

168 ratings


More shows like The Product Podcast

View all
This Week in Startups by Jason Calacanis

This Week in Startups

1,285 Listeners

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch by Harry Stebbings

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch

533 Listeners

The Knowledge Project by Shane Parrish

The Knowledge Project

2,685 Listeners

The a16z Show by Andreessen Horowitz

The a16z Show

1,092 Listeners

HBR IdeaCast by Harvard Business Review

HBR IdeaCast

159 Listeners

Super Data Science: ML & AI Podcast with Jon Krohn by Jon Krohn

Super Data Science: ML & AI Podcast with Jon Krohn

302 Listeners

Founders by David Senra

Founders

2,169 Listeners

Masters of Scale by WaitWhat

Masters of Scale

3,990 Listeners

Y Combinator Startup Podcast by Y Combinator

Y Combinator Startup Podcast

228 Listeners

Practical AI by Practical AI LLC

Practical AI

205 Listeners

Big Technology Podcast by Alex Kantrowitz

Big Technology Podcast

500 Listeners

No Priors: Artificial Intelligence | Technology | Startups by Conviction

No Priors: Artificial Intelligence | Technology | Startups

131 Listeners

The AI Daily Brief: Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis by Nathaniel Whittemore

The AI Daily Brief: Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

622 Listeners

AI + a16z by a16z

AI + a16z

36 Listeners

Lightcone Podcast by Y Combinator

Lightcone Podcast

23 Listeners