Figma could have been a public good - for the global design community, for decades. 1/10 of the $22 Billion could have set Figma on a path to being funded as a public good for the community. Silicon Valley has done this in the past for key software pieces the world needs. But Silicon Valley lacks a vision for the design community - and the best tool for supporting engineers with quality design software for the designers.
First, let me explain how many left feet Adobe has from my perspective of history. Adobe could gone down the right path 25 years ago, and it never did.
• HTML proposed 1993.
• CSS proposed 1996.
• Flash proposed 1993. (Bought by Adobe in 2006 - 13 years later).
• Flash wrecks the internet for seven more years.
• Flash killed by Steve Jobs 2010 - removing floppy dancer from the path to mobile internet.
• First responsive website design, Audi 2001.
• Figma launched, September 2016.
• Adobe launches AWESOME XD beta 2016!
• June 2022, Adobe discovers professional groups don't use their XD beta – looks at Figma. Wowed at the lack of self-awareness.
• September 2022, Adobe asks banks to save them to the tune of $22-Billion, to buy the Figma.
• Adobe claims best product app title, trying out Figma. Good fit?
• Community cries self to sleep.
• Future: New, better web-apps jump on the dance floor, and the world forgets about Figma?
Adobe selling out to banks that created and gave them fake 2s and 0s. They now own Adobe - a fitting ending. Not a winning bet for shareholders, yet who cares? It's just made up twos and zeros.: two, two, zero, zero, zero, zero, zero, zero, zero, zero, zero.
The 22-Billion that could have made Figma FREE to the world - FOREVER. Figma could have been a PUBLIC GOOD.
I am a UX designer and work at Fractally, where we create platforms to support and manage public goods - for global communities. Figma is a perfect example that could be a public good. It could have been a public good, rewarded by and loved by the global community of designers for many decades.
Instead, early Figma private equity investors sold Figma (and Adobe) to richer private equity investors. Figma will be sacrificed and bled - for the Adobe shareholders (and private equity bankers) for 5-10 years (?) Suitable for private equity investor$ who funded Figma, then sold it to Adobe for 50x.
Is this good for the design and development community? Had a beloved programming language been sold this way to Microsoft, the developer community would be up in arms. Well, if you are a developer, you should be. Because this is the tool designers use to improve your lives as developers.
I humbly request that the private equity investors' acquisition of both Adobe and Figma be stopped immediately. And Figma is to be made a public good for all Silicon Valley and global software developer teams and designers.
@thomashallgren
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