A Look Back at Two Years with Figma

Hey Figmates 👋

Today, I am writing to share with you that due to some corporate restructuring at Figma's HQ, I have been relieved from my role as the Friends of Figma Regional Lead for Africa. While I'm sad to say goodbye to the official title and responsibilities, I'm also excited to see what's next!

It has been an incredible two years filled with growth, collaboration, and meaningful impact, both for myself and for the Figma community across Africa. Together, we've accomplished things I wouldn't have dared dream of when I first took on this role and I am excited to reflect on the achievements we've accomplished together as a community.

My FOF Journey:

As a designer and passionate advocate for design collaboration and Figma's innovative platform, I dedicated myself to fostering a vibrant and supportive community in my city Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. From hosting virtual and in-person events to moderating discussions, my days were filled with engaging activities that brought designers together. The Figma Community in Uyo became a thriving ecosystem where ideas flourished, and connections deepened.

From 2018 to 2021, I witnessed the community evolve and grow. New features and updates from Figma sparked lively discussions, and designers from my city collaborated on projects. I cherished the role I played in facilitating these connections, ensuring that every voice in the community was heard.

Amid this journey, I had the privilege of working closely with Namnso Ukpanah, the Regional Lead at the time. Namnso recognized my dedication and the positive impact I was making within the community. Encouraged by the energy and enthusiasm I brought to the role, Namnso recommended me to take on a more significant responsibility as the Friends of Figma Regional Lead for Africa.

In 2022, I was offered the role of Regional Lead. The news left me both excited and humbled. It was a testament to the hard work and passion I had invested in building and nurturing the Figma Community over the past few years. As a Regional Lead, my responsibilities expanded, and I found myself leading a team of over 40+ advocates, guiding them to create meaningful experiences for designers in the Africa Region.

The transition brought its challenges, but I embraced them with an open heart. Together with my team, we continued to foster a sense of belonging, inclusivity and collaboration within the community. Regional events flourished, and the exchange of knowledge between designers reached new heights.

Looking back, my journey from a Figma Community Advocate in 2018 to a Regional Lead in 2022 was nothing short of extraordinary. The relationships formed, the lessons learned, and the impact made within the Figma Community will forever be in my professional story. I am grateful for the opportunities, and I eagerly anticipate the continued growth and success of the Figma Community in the years to come.

👇 Picture highlights of me as a Figma Community Advocate :)

About FOF Africa:

Friends of Figma Africa is a community built to make design and its resources accessible to everyone in Africa and beyond. With this as our goal, we have communities created in different parts of Africa where you can access and connect with other designers as well as get design-related values to facilitate an easy learning process for everyone.

​These communities consist of designers, artists, other creatives and even developers who come together to share their work, collaborate, and learn from one another. It is also a platform for designers to showcase their work, get feedback from other designers, and connect with potential clients and employers.

Here are some of the activities that FOF Design Communities engage in:

• Design Critiques and Feedback: the FOF Communities serve as a platform for designers to showcase their work and receive feedback from other members. This feedback helps designers to improve their work and gain insights into different design techniques and styles.

• Knowledge Sharing and Learning: the communities also provide a safe space for designers to share their knowledge and expertise with other members. This can include workshops, webinars, tutorials, and other educational resources aimed at helping designers develop new skills and techniques.

• Collaboration and Networking: the communities also facilitate collaboration and networking opportunities for designers, connecting them with potential clients, employers, and other designers who share their interests and passions.

• Portfolio Building and Exposure: the communities often provide designers with an opportunity to showcase their work to a wider audience, helping them to build their portfolios and gain exposure within the industry.

• Industry Events and Conferences: we also organize and host design events and conferences within the diverse communities and in the regional level, providing opportunities for designers to learn about the latest trends and techniques in design, network with industry professionals, and showcase their work.

Overall, the Friends of Figma Design Communities play a crucial role in fostering creativity, collaboration, and knowledge sharing within the design industry in Africa. They help designers to develop their skills, build their portfolios and connect with other creatives who share their passion for design.

Strategies:

Building and nurturing the Friends of Figma Design Communities in Africa has been a tasking yet rewarding experience for me especially as a young lady who had to lead 40+ advocates with 90% being male and 10% female. I have made a lot of mistakes in the process of figuring out what works for my then community and somehow figured out what worked at the time, here are some approaches that I adopted that has made community management easy for me:

• Diversity and Inclusion: FOF communities in Africa are predominantly English-speaking, followed by French and Swahili. Based on the feedback I received from my community advocates, I separated English-speaking activities from French-speaking activities and generally allowed everyone to make decisions and be in charge.

• Feedback: Regularly seeking feedback from community advocates about their experience and what they'd like to see improved is one of the strategies I adopted to help me better understand what my community needs at a time.

• Collaborations: I have partnered and collaborated with some brands which has significantly improved our community's reach and impact.

• Mentorship Programs: I am proud to say that launching the Learn Design Mentorship Program in Friends of Figma Africa is one of our biggest achievement so far. This program has allowed us to explore options of creating an inclusive learning environment where designers can receive free mentorship, enabling us to make a positive impact on the design community.

• Events and workshops: In addition to the events occurring within our communities, we host regional events such as live design workshops, Design Festival and Twitter spaces. These have been instrumental in expanding our reach to a wider audience.

My Key Achievements and Impact on the Community:

Over the course of my journey as Regional Lead, I have dedicated myself to making a meaningful impact within the individual communities and in the Regional Level. Through a combination of passion, hard work, and a commitment to positive change, I have achieved significant milestones that have not only shaped my personal growth but have also left a lasting impression on the FOF Community.

• One of my primary goals was to advocate for inclusivity within the design community in Africa, and I am thrilled to have played a role in creating an environment where individuals from all backgrounds feel welcomed, represented, and empowered to contribute. The French speakers have been more expressive and involved with activities.

• Successful launch of the Regional mentorship program. Before now, the approach was to have the individual communities implement the mentorship programs but we developed a new workable structure which was to host it at the regional level. The V.1 though filled with some challenges was a great success. The intention was to continuously bring initiatives that won't just onboard new designers but help them grow.

• Growth on our social media platforms and individual communities have significantly increased.

• We have recorded over 500+ people who have made a transition to design within the past two years.

• We have witnessed a significant expansion of the Friends of Figma community to different parts in Africa.

• The community has become a hub for networking, collaboration, and knowledge exchange. Members have formed valuable connections that extend beyond online interactions, fostering a sense of support.

• A lot of inactive communities have been revived and the engagement rate is massive.

• I am proud to have spearheaded various educational initiatives, including webinars, workshops, and tutorial sessions, aimed at equipping our community members with valuable skills and insights into the latest Figma features and design trends.

• Our collaborative projects and initiatives have showcased the incredible talent present in Africa, challenging stereotypes and highlighting the diverse perspectives within the design industry on the continent.

• We have had successful partnerships with brands like Lottie files, Webflow etc.

Metrics:

Advocates: I managed a group of over 40+ advocates from various cities within the Africa Region who in turn are managing design communities in their cities.

Engagement Metrics: The FOF Africa Community has over 70% engagement on various activities within the community and social media platforms. We also have same ratio of engagement in our virtual events on Twitter Spaces, Zoom Sessions, etc. And we have also recorded over 80% retention rate of new community members after every event.

Community Events: Between 2022 and 2023, we have a record of hosting over 244 successful events (both virtual and physical) which onboarded new and active community members across the region.

Events and Workshops: We have partnered with brands and hosted various design-focused Twitter spaces and Zoom live sessions with a 100% engagement rate.

Partnerships: We have also partnered with successful brands to host virtual sessions and foster good relationships. We have Blocaccets, Lottie Files, Treford, Untitled Design Conference, Web3 Media, and Propel.

Challenges:

In as much as my sole responsibility was to coordinate the advocates and ensure that they meet up with the assigned tasks and also manage the regional community at large. I faced a couple of challenges which are listed below:

• Managing negativity and conflict: managing an online community can be prone to negativity and conflict. When I started out as a regional lead, I had a tough time identifying and resolving conflicts while maintaining a positive and welcoming environment. But I was able to handle this by talking to other community managers and generally brainstorming and sharing ideas on how to go about it.

• Handling diverse audiences: FOF Africa is a compilation of various online communities which is made up of individuals from different backgrounds, cultures, and age groups in this case both English and French Speakers. I had to train myself to be able to cater to this diverse audience and ensure that everyone feels included and heard by speaking in a language that they understand and creating programs and initiatives that were tailored towards them.

• Creating engaging content: Creating engaging and relevant content that resonates with the community is crucial to the success of any online community. I struggled with this a lot at the beginning of my community management journey and had to develop my creative and innovative side generally by learning from experts and reading a lot of books. This helped me change my approach to content creation.

• Maintaining brand reputation: Maintaining the reputation of the Figma brand was at stake when it comes to managing diverse online communities. It was difficult to handle this because the communities were not directly managed by me and I had to create documents and was constantly syncing with community advocates to ensure that all the interactions and conversations on the community platform aligned with Figma's brand values and mission.

• Exhaustion and Loss of Interest: The community advocate roles are entirely voluntary, which means that no one receives compensation for being an advocate. I faced the challenge of bringing everyone together to manage their communities and create activities. However, I have been able to make significant progress by developing initiatives that empower the advocates, spotlight their communities, and generally make them feel more appreciated and heard in the community. Although this challenge still exists to some extent, I am confident that they will continue to make significant strides toward success.

👇 Some physical appearances of me as a Friends of Figma Africa Regional Lead :)

Future Endeavors:

As I step down from my role, I am excited about the continued growth of Friends of Figma in Africa. My passion for community building remains undimmed, and I look forward to exploring new opportunities to contribute to the design ecosystem in different capacities.

Although I made a career switch and I am now a Golang Developer, I'm excited to explore new avenues, to continue contributing to the design landscape in Africa and beyond. Perhaps I'll mentor up-coming designers, delve deeper into design advocacy, or even embark on a new entrepreneurial venture – the possibilities are endless! Feel free to check out my mentor profile on Designlab and also a proof that I am doing great at Designlab.

One thing's for sure: my connection to the Figma community and the incredible people I've met along the way will always remain strong.

I am open to Community Management Roles on either contract, part-time or full time bases in any tech industry.

Thank you for reading and being part of this remarkable experience.

Connect with me on Social Media;

Subscribe to my YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@mfonobong

Linkedln: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bellamfonobong/

Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/bella.umondia

Twitter: https://twitter.com/the_ladybella

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_ladybella/

Signing out ✌️

Mfonobong Umondia (Lady Bella)

Former Friends of Figma Regional Lead for Africa