On the 15th September 2022, Adobe Inc announced the acquisition of Figma, its biggest rival in digital design for a sum of $20 billion. Adobe’s deal with Figma in a half cash and half stock agreement would give the former, the maker of Photoshop, ownership of a company whose products allow creators to bypass the often-clumsy process of saving and sending to colleagues using a collection of disparate apps.
Users widely received the announcement of the acquisition with shock as much as concern for several personal reasons. Brief lists the mixed reaction from African designers.
Subscription-based model
One major concern for African designers is that the acquisition of Figma by Adobe would cause the latter to place a subscription fee on the platform. At the moment, a good number of Figma users might not be able to afford a monthly subscription fee.
Complexity of Product
Apart from being free, many designers use the figma platform because of its ease of usage. With the acquisition, designers fear the platform would become complicated as with every other Adobe product.
Community feature
Figma has a robust design-focused community feature that encourages interaction amongst users. Designers fear that Adobe might not prioritize the use of this community feature, as Figma does.
What to expect
There would be a tremendous change in using Figma following the incorporation of Adobe’s area of expertise, including imaging, photography, illustration, 3D, and font technology.
Figma would continue to improve its product, such as Figma Design, FigJam, and the Figma community platform. “The Friends of Figma program will continue to grow into new communities.”