TIL I was overcomplicating auto layout for months

I used to stack frames inside frames inside frames for every little card layout in Figma. Thought that was just how you had to do it. Then last week I watched a 10 minute tutorial from some random UX guy on YouTube and he just used two nested auto layouts with padding and spacing. That was it. Felt like an idiot realizing I was making 8 layers when I only needed 3. The tipping point was when I tried to edit a button and had to click through 5 parent frames just to change the text. Now I keep it way simpler but my old files are a nightmare to revisit. Anyone else have a moment where they realized they were dragging around extra layers for no reason?

2 comments

2 Comments

wadeyoung4d ago

It's funny how that clicks in and then you start noticing it everywhere, like how I used to buy organizers for every little thing in my kitchen drawers. You realize half the "solutions" you thought were essential are just noise once you see the simple way.

michaeladams4d ago

Are you really saying all those organizers are useless though? I bought a set of those bamboo drawer dividers last year and my kitchen actually makes sense now. Without them, everything just slides around and I'm digging through a pile of spatulas to find a measuring spoon. Maybe you just had cheap ones or bought too many, but having a specific spot for things saves me time every single day. Some structure isn't noise, it's just common sense.