Last week, we welcomed the Friends of Figma community into the Juicebox studio for a sold-out evening of ideas, inspiration, and connection. Juicebox designer Andre Couto and developer Sean Taaffe opened the night with “A Designer, a Dev, and an AI Walk Into a Bar”.
It was a fast-paced look at how shared systems and AI are dissolving the traditional gap between design and development. They showed how a foundational design system, shared semantic language, and lean variable libraries can create a single source of truth across teams.
“The real breakthrough wasn’t the tools, it was creating a shared language so design and development could finally work from the same page.”
From there, AI tools step in to automate 70 to 80 percent of production code, freeing designers and developers to focus on high-value work like micro-interactions, animation, and user experience polish. It was a sharp, real-world example of what happens when disciplines stop working in silos and start building from the same playbook.
Top three takeaways from Andre & Sean’s talk:
Shared systems and clear semantics remove friction between design and development.
Lean, purposeful variables make it easier for humans and AI to work in sync.
Automation is most valuable when it frees teams to focus on creativity and user experience.
Then Jess Sampson, Content Lead at Bankwest, reminded us that great experiences start with words. In “Experience Design Starts With Language”, she showed how language shapes trust, clarity, and engagement, the human layer that makes design truly connect.
Top three takeaways from Jess’s talk:
Content is not an afterthought — it is a core design component.
Consistent tone and structure improve both clarity and trust.
Early collaboration between content, design, and development leads to better user experiences.
Our space was built for cross-discipline collaboration, exactly the spirit Figma champions. And as the talks wrapped up, the real magic began: conversations, questions, and shared ideas.
For us, the night was a reminder that great design happens when diverse perspectives meet in the same room, whether that is in person, online, or somewhere in between.
Perth’s creative community is thriving. And we are here for it.
*Photos by Boris Basque.
