“What I would recommend for anybody designing to do is to use references — I'm grabbing different apps that have similar functionality and design to what I'm looking to build, and then using that to inform my design process.”

Use reference apps in Figma instead of designing from a blank canvas

Figma fluency is non-negotiable even for non-designers — it's the surface where you brief contractors and pressure-test layouts. Pull reference apps with similar functionality and remix their patterns rather than designing from a blank canvas.