Planning Upstream, Craft Downstream

Most teams are still passing static design files back and forth, and most Figma files are already out of date by the time they reach engineering. Gui Seiz (designer) and Alex Kern (engineer) from Figma walk through the exact workflow their team uses to bridge that gap with AI, live onscreen. They demo how to pull a running web app directly into Figma using the Figma MCP, edit it collaboratively, and push it back to code. The old linear waterfall workflow is gone. What replaces it is a fluid, bidirectional loop where design and code inform each other in real time.

What you’ll learn:

1. How to use Figma’s MCP to pull production code directly into Figma files
2. A workflow for pushing design changes from Figma back into your codebase using Claude Code without manual CSS adjustments
3. How to export multiple code states (like all five states of a signup flow) into Figma so designers can work with what actually exists in production
4. Why AI has shifted design work upstream to planning and downstream to craft, eliminating the rushed middle phase of execution
5. How to create custom skills that automate pre-flight checks, lint fixes, and CI monitoring before pushing code to production
6. How to structure your codebase so AI can write 90% of your code more effectively

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Brought to you by:

Optimizely—Your AI agent orchestration platform for marketing and digital teams

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In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Introduction to Gui and Alex from Figma

(02:56) How AI has transformed Figma’s internal workflows

(05:17) The collapse of linear design-to-code workflows

(07:28) Demo: Pulling production code into Figma using MCPs

(10:49) Using Figma for precise design manipulation and team collaboration

(14:10) Demo: Pushing Figma designs back into code with Claude Code

(16:06) How AI has changed the role of software engineers

(18:43) The shift to upstream planning and downstream craft

(22:31) Demo: Exporting multiple code states back into Figma

(25:23) Synchronous vs. asynchronous collaboration with AI

(28:00) Eliminating design and engineering toil with AI

(29:03) Demo: Custom skills for automating pre-flight checks

(34:06) Code first or design first?

(35:24) Using AI to learn and explore codebases

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Tools referenced:

• Figma: https://www.figma.com/

• From Claude Code to Figma: Turning production code into editable Figma designs: https://www.figma.com/blog/introducing-claude-code-to-figma/

• Codex: https://codex.ai/

• Claude Code: https://claude.ai/code

• Buildkite: https://buildkite.com/

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Other references:

• Balsamiq: https://balsamiq.com/

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Where to find Gui Seiz:

X: https://x.com/guiseiz

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/guiseiz/

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Where to find Alex Kern:

X: https://x.com/kernio

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexanderskern/

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Where to find Claire Vo:

ChatPRD: https://www.chatprd.ai/

Website: https://clairevo.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clairevo/

X: https://x.com/clairevo

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Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email jordan@penname.co.