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    Creating Reusable Components in Figma

    By Nitin Khatri (Senior UI/UX Designer & Educator)
    Reviewed by Sarah Miller (Principal Product Designer (Reviewer))
    Updated
    Video Lesson: 09:15
    Level: Intermediate
    Official References:
    Figma Help CenterFigma YouTube Channel

    Efficiency in Figma comes from building reusable assets. This lesson introduces Components, explaining the relationship between Main Components and Instances.

    Complete tasks and quiz to finish this lesson.
    Tasks
    Quiz

    Lesson Video

    Lesson Content

    Learning Objectives

    • •Identify when an element should be turned into a component
    • •Create and manage Main Components and their Instances
    • •Apply overrides to instances without breaking the link to the Main Component
    • •Organize components using naming conventions and the Assets panel

    What You'll Learn

    1. The Component lifecycle in Figma
    2. Understanding the Main Component (Diamond icon) vs Instances
    3. Handling text and style overrides in instances
    4. Resetting overrides and detaching instances when necessary

    Key Concepts

    Main Components
    Component Instances
    Style Overrides
    Asset Organization

    Key Takeaways

    • ✓Components allow you to update multiple design elements simultaneously.
    • ✓Changes made to the Main Component propagate to all its Instances.
    • ✓Instances can have unique text, colors, or images while keeping their structure.
    • ✓Organizing components early is vital for maintaining large design files.

    Practice Tasks

    Component Architecture

    Convert a static UI element into a reusable component that serves as a single source of truth.

    • Design a simple card with a header, image, and button
    • Select the card and click 'Create Component' (Cmd+Option+K)
    • Identify the 'Main Component' icon in the Layers panel
    • Pull an 'Instance' of the component from the Assets panel into a new frame

    Overriding and Resetting

    Update instances while maintaining the link to the main component's structure.

    • Change the background color of the 'Main Component' and verify instances update
    • Modify the text of an 'Instance' and verify it doesn't change the Main Component
    • Use the 'Reset all overrides' function to revert an instance to its original state
    • Detach an instance and observe how it becomes a regular frame

    Knowledge Check

    Pass with 70% or higher

    1. What happens when you create a 'Main Component' (the primary source) in Figma?

    2. What is a 'Component Instance'?

    3. What is a 'Component Override'?

    4. What is the consequence of 'Detaching' an instance from its main component?

    Lesson FAQ

    Q: How can I practice what I learned in this lesson?

    We highly recommend opening your own Figma workspace in a side window and repeating the steps shown in the video. Utilize the tasks checklist above for specific practice targets.

    Q: What should I do if my layout behaves differently from the walkthrough?

    Double-check parent-child constraints and resizing values (e.g. Hug vs Fill). Ensure Auto Layout direction is correct and check the related guidebooks below for step-by-step visual references.

    Lesson Resources & Connections

    Prerequisites

    No prerequisites required. This is a foundational starter lesson.

    Related Guidebook

    How to create reusable components in Figma

    Read Guidebook →

    How to create a reusable navigation bar component in Figma

    Read Guidebook →

    Relevant Design Tool

    Palette Generator

    Build system color variables.

    Open Companion Tool →

    Color Converter

    Convert Hex, RGB, HSL values.

    Open Companion Tool →

    Next Lesson

    Using Component Variants and Properties