Nathan A Curtis
@nathanacurtis.bsky.social
Design systems consultant at Directed Edges in Fairfax, VA USA. Figma Specs plugin creator. Blogger on @medium. Formerly EightShapes. Supports Arsenal, University of Chicago and Virginia Tech. From Ohio, originally.
I'm improving my Anova plugin that generates component specs consistent with a JSON schema to manage specs in the file and easily consolidate and copy them into code.
November 12, 2025 at 2:49 PM
I'm improving my Anova plugin that generates component specs consistent with a JSON schema to manage specs in the file and easily consolidate and copy them into code.
Caught a couple Banksys in Park City, Utah
July 6, 2025 at 3:18 AM
Caught a couple Banksys in Park City, Utah
I'm diving perhaps too deep as I develop teaching materials for UI Component Props. I'm sensing I could do a whole conference talk on tips and tricks for solely enum/variant props.
June 13, 2025 at 1:23 PM
I'm diving perhaps too deep as I develop teaching materials for UI Component Props. I'm sensing I could do a whole conference talk on tips and tricks for solely enum/variant props.
At @intodesignsystems.bsky.social in a couple weeks, I can't wait to present the various tools I use to communicate component architecture ideas in Figma, including props, enums and layers I combine into an overall "API sketch."
May 16, 2025 at 3:39 PM
At @intodesignsystems.bsky.social in a couple weeks, I can't wait to present the various tools I use to communicate component architecture ideas in Figma, including props, enums and layers I combine into an overall "API sketch."
I found @katielangerman.bsky.social's spreadsheets in her Config 2025 Connecting Code and Craft talk very similar to my token taxonomy efforts: define 'em, transform 'em, and map 'em to migrate production.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6l6E...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6l6E...
May 16, 2025 at 1:05 PM
I found @katielangerman.bsky.social's spreadsheets in her Config 2025 Connecting Code and Craft talk very similar to my token taxonomy efforts: define 'em, transform 'em, and map 'em to migrate production.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6l6E...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6l6E...
Curious, have you seen folks use your index to source examples and analyze them via AI? I just fed all the Tabs links to do a prop analysis, for example...
May 6, 2025 at 10:24 AM
Curious, have you seen folks use your index to source examples and analyze them via AI? I just fed all the Tabs links to do a prop analysis, for example...
In town for spring break and college visits, a stop at Edmonds Oast Brewery for the Real Madrid match, and I won a @charsenal.com raffle for @arsenalfc.bsky.social merch. Woot! Great community, go Gunners!
April 16, 2025 at 8:12 PM
In town for spring break and college visits, a stop at Edmonds Oast Brewery for the Real Madrid match, and I won a @charsenal.com raffle for @arsenalfc.bsky.social merch. Woot! Great community, go Gunners!
Oh my goodness: have we entered the Post FAB era of UI design?
February 2, 2025 at 9:03 PM
Oh my goodness: have we entered the Post FAB era of UI design?
It’s this kinda clutter that erodes faith in AI and brands. 🤬🤡
Google, c’mon, I don’t need these for email, and an anchored very-oft used Archive interaction is now demoted and muddled as a tap target.
Google, c’mon, I don’t need these for email, and an anchored very-oft used Archive interaction is now demoted and muddled as a tap target.
January 17, 2025 at 5:15 PM
It’s this kinda clutter that erodes faith in AI and brands. 🤬🤡
Google, c’mon, I don’t need these for email, and an anchored very-oft used Archive interaction is now demoted and muddled as a tap target.
Google, c’mon, I don’t need these for email, and an anchored very-oft used Archive interaction is now demoted and muddled as a tap target.
Some pretty brittle takes in the comments, what with the club winning or drawing 13 previous to this week. Yes, it’s hard and injuries grueling, but there are still competitions to play for. COYG
January 12, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Some pretty brittle takes in the comments, what with the club winning or drawing 13 previous to this week. Yes, it’s hard and injuries grueling, but there are still competitions to play for. COYG
Extending my Specs Figma plugin to add Dev Mode-based annotations is straightforward, but not optimal:
1. You must run *second* in Dev Mode.
2. Only some attributes are supported (extras could be added to a label)
3. Dev Mode feels tedious and inhibits comparison.
Has me wondering: is it worth it?
1. You must run *second* in Dev Mode.
2. Only some attributes are supported (extras could be added to a label)
3. Dev Mode feels tedious and inhibits comparison.
Has me wondering: is it worth it?
December 19, 2024 at 4:29 PM
Extending my Specs Figma plugin to add Dev Mode-based annotations is straightforward, but not optimal:
1. You must run *second* in Dev Mode.
2. Only some attributes are supported (extras could be added to a label)
3. Dev Mode feels tedious and inhibits comparison.
Has me wondering: is it worth it?
1. You must run *second* in Dev Mode.
2. Only some attributes are supported (extras could be added to a label)
3. Dev Mode feels tedious and inhibits comparison.
Has me wondering: is it worth it?
Measuring design system success as objectives of a DS team, their users, and THEIR customers questions, examples and methods you can use to see how you're doing.
December 12, 2024 at 5:48 PM
Measuring design system success as objectives of a DS team, their users, and THEIR customers questions, examples and methods you can use to see how you're doing.
On fire in DC too…
December 8, 2024 at 2:58 AM
On fire in DC too…
Yeah, OK, maybe I will.
My specs plugin is pretty much shovel-ready to integrate this easily so that (a) you don't have to otherwise build your own plugin to do it and (b) it's already intelligent enough to only annotate and *difference* the attributes that matter.
My specs plugin is pretty much shovel-ready to integrate this easily so that (a) you don't have to otherwise build your own plugin to do it and (b) it's already intelligent enough to only annotate and *difference* the attributes that matter.
December 6, 2024 at 9:42 PM
Yeah, OK, maybe I will.
My specs plugin is pretty much shovel-ready to integrate this easily so that (a) you don't have to otherwise build your own plugin to do it and (b) it's already intelligent enough to only annotate and *difference* the attributes that matter.
My specs plugin is pretty much shovel-ready to integrate this easily so that (a) you don't have to otherwise build your own plugin to do it and (b) it's already intelligent enough to only annotate and *difference* the attributes that matter.
I have many teams rethinking the structure of their Figma library component page. I've now begun to knee jerk reply with "Start with what Atlassian does."
Are there other public Figma libraries formatting a component's page in a way you favor?
www.figma.com/community/fi...
Are there other public Figma libraries formatting a component's page in a way you favor?
www.figma.com/community/fi...
November 22, 2024 at 2:19 PM
I have many teams rethinking the structure of their Figma library component page. I've now begun to knee jerk reply with "Start with what Atlassian does."
Are there other public Figma libraries formatting a component's page in a way you favor?
www.figma.com/community/fi...
Are there other public Figma libraries formatting a component's page in a way you favor?
www.figma.com/community/fi...
That was fun: Specs plugin subscriber asks "Can you show the code syntax variable name if it's provided?" and in an hour I ship an enhancement. :)
November 14, 2024 at 12:59 AM
That was fun: Specs plugin subscriber asks "Can you show the code syntax variable name if it's provided?" and in an hour I ship an enhancement. :)
For my new friends on Bluesky, note that I have a hobby of cycling to heatmap (cycle EVERY single street segment of) my entire Fairfax County, VA near DC and have made considerable progress in 2023 and 2024. You can find me on Strava at nathanacurtis. :)
November 11, 2024 at 5:24 PM
For my new friends on Bluesky, note that I have a hobby of cycling to heatmap (cycle EVERY single street segment of) my entire Fairfax County, VA near DC and have made considerable progress in 2023 and 2024. You can find me on Strava at nathanacurtis. :)
For years, I've taught a component workflow as Discovery -> Design -> Spec, handing off to multiple assignees across output for Production.
Recently, many clients are delineating "most likely" tasks by product designers ending with Design. Maybe Spec should be positioned as Production as a result?
Recently, many clients are delineating "most likely" tasks by product designers ending with Design. Maybe Spec should be positioned as Production as a result?
November 7, 2024 at 8:44 PM
For years, I've taught a component workflow as Discovery -> Design -> Spec, handing off to multiple assignees across output for Production.
Recently, many clients are delineating "most likely" tasks by product designers ending with Design. Maybe Spec should be positioned as Production as a result?
Recently, many clients are delineating "most likely" tasks by product designers ending with Design. Maybe Spec should be positioned as Production as a result?
I'm nearing completion on a blog post advocating for stronger modeling of state in Figma assets to emulate code. I anticipate strongly opinionated responses.
Care to comment on your perspectives prior to help me improve my writing?
Care to comment on your perspectives prior to help me improve my writing?
November 7, 2024 at 1:04 PM
I'm nearing completion on a blog post advocating for stronger modeling of state in Figma assets to emulate code. I anticipate strongly opinionated responses.
Care to comment on your perspectives prior to help me improve my writing?
Care to comment on your perspectives prior to help me improve my writing?
Why does Chrome Dev Inspector visually distinguish the first six pseudo classes (hover, active, focus, ...) from the rest?
November 6, 2024 at 5:26 PM
Why does Chrome Dev Inspector visually distinguish the first six pseudo classes (hover, active, focus, ...) from the rest?