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Welcome back. Figma launched three AI image tools this week that do what Photoshop does…except you never leave your design file. Adobe and Canva have had this for years. Figma's late, but it's here.
Figma's Image Editing: No More Export Hell
On December 10, Figma released Erase object, Isolate object, and Expand image—three AI tools that eliminate the Figma-to-Photoshop-back-to-Figma workflow. You can now select any object with the lasso tool, remove it, or isolate it to adjust lighting, shadows, and color. The background stays intact.
Expand image is the real winner. Early tests show it works well for adapting square images to banner formats. Instead of cropping awkwardly or rebuilding the background, Expand image fills in the missing areas intelligently. Takes 30 seconds instead of 5 minutes in Photoshop.
The new toolbar consolidates all image tools in one place. Remove background (already Figma's most-used AI feature) gets prominent placement. Everything's contextual; select an image, the toolbar appears.
Design lesson: Every saved minute matters. These tools won't replace Photoshop for complex work, but for quick edits? You're staying in flow instead of context-switching.
Your Entire Studio, Right on Your Laptop
Record, edit, and publish your best content without needing a crew, studio, or complicated setup.
With Riverside, you capture high-quality video and audio, edit it instantly with AI, and turn one recording into clips, posts, and podcasts ready to share. All so you can spend less time troubleshooting tech and more time creating the content your audience actually wants.
Imagine finishing your session by lunch and sharing finished clips before your afternoon coffee. Riverside puts the power of a full studio right on your laptop so you can create faster, sound better, and look professional anywhere.
Designers Are Getting Paid $40/Hour to Train AI
Multiple job boards are listing "AI Training for Designers" roles at $20-40/hour. Companies like DataAnnotation want designers to evaluate AI outputs, critique UI/UX quality, and refine how AI understands aesthetics and usability.
The work: You review AI-generated designs, provide detailed feedback on layout quality, assess visual hierarchy, and teach the model what good design looks like. Projects focus on UI/UX critique, product visuals, and aesthetic evaluation.
Requirements are straightforward—background in UI/UX, web design, or graphic design. Some gigs are freelance, others W-2. Most are remote.
The catch: You're training your replacement. Or maybe you're making AI a better design assistant. Depends on your perspective and how much you need the cash.
2025's Best Designs: What Actually Won
Dezeen's design team just published their top picks for 2025, and the winners tell you what's resonating right now. Not the stuff design Twitter hyped—the work people actually cared about.
Nissan's R32EV concept: A fully electric car with 1980s sports car looks. Retro aesthetics meet modern tech. It's a show car, not production, but the response was massive.
WoolTech circuit boards: A designer carbonized wool with lasers to create conductive pathways. It's biodegradable, tackles e-waste, and uses Britain's mounting wool waste. Won sustainable design of the year.
Kitchen Cosmo: MIT project that helps you cook with leftovers using AI and computer vision. Retro interface with buttons and switches instead of touch screens. People loved that.
Design lesson: The best 2025 designs either solved real problems (e-waste, food waste) or brought joy through nostalgia and craft. Nobody cared about another minimal SaaS dashboard.
Quick Hits
Figma for Government launched. FedRAMP-certified version for federal teams. Includes Figma Make for rapid prototyping. If you work with government clients, this removes compliance headaches. Figma Newsroom, December 11, 2025
Figma AI credit tracking is live. Admins can now see monthly AI usage for their org. Users see their credit balance and how many credits each action consumed. New subscription packages for extra credits launch March 2026. Figma Blog, December 10, 2025
Job openings are still there. Over 2,800 UI/UX designer jobs in the US on Glassdoor right now. Pay ranges $20-40/hour for junior roles, up to $200K+ for senior positions. Remote options abundant. Market's not dead, just slower. Glassdoor, December 2025
What's Buzzing
🎨 Potato Beds: TikTok's obsessed with "potato beds"—ultra-soft, heavily layered beds that become comfort cocoons. It's peak slow living aesthetics as people create sanctuaries from an overstimulating world. NellyRodi, December 15, 2025
🏆 Design Awards: DesignRush announced December's best design winners. Above Digital UK won website design, DigiNeat Smart Technologies won app design. The winning work emphasizes clarity, emotion, and business impact. DesignRush, December 10, 2025
💼 Product Managers Using Make: Figma just published a piece about PMs using Figma Make to pressure-test assumptions early. They're building to create clarity, not waiting for designers. Figma, December 16, 2025
Forward this to a designer who's still exporting images to Photoshop.
— Rob