From PowerPoint to Figma: Why Your Slides Matter
I have been a professor for many years, so PowerPoint has always been part of my teaching. The phrase “Death by PowerPoint” is often mentioned, but in reality it is somewhat exaggerated. Whether people like it or not, PowerPoint is here to stay. Expecting professors to rely only on chalk and a blackboard would be far too slow and inefficient.
Recently, I started learning Figma. After using it for a few hours, I realized something interesting: Figma is much more similar to PowerPoint than I expected.
Both tools deal with the same basic design elements such as fonts, font size, alignment, rotation, and resizing objects. Whether you are creating slides, designing a website, or building a mobile app mockup, the core skills are similar.
Modern tools also provide helpful alignment guides, making layout much easier than before. This familiarity is a huge advantage for anyone transitioning from traditional presentation software to modern design platforms.
The lesson is simple: practice makes perfect. Once you learn a tool like PowerPoint, it becomes much easier to learn new tools such as Figma.
Max Li
Founder, Grassrootech
max@grassrootech.comMax is dedicated to bridging the gap between advanced research and practical industry application. Drawing on his experience at IBM Research and Union University, he leads the development of AI solutions that drive meaningful progress.
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