Intern’s Analysis of the visual design workshop for beginners in FIGMA in Zoom

On Tuesday, February 17, Riga Technical University hosted a visual design workshop for beginners in Figma. Such a program is not only used in the digital design field, but is also implemented in other fields. Furthermore, this event not only allowed immigrant women to obtain new skills but also enhanced their creativity. Below, Sofiia Hedz, an intern at the Institute of Baltic Studies, shared her impressions of the workshop.

“The FIGMA workshop was a valuable opportunity to further develop skills in digital design. Since the event was conducted in a hybrid format, it brought together around 56 participants from Latvia, Estonia, Finland, and Sweden. Although I have had previous experience with using FIGMA, it was mostly limited to creating political science posters at university. This training offered a different approach, focusing more on practical application through guided exercises using FIGMA tools and layouts, complementing my theoretical knowledge of the tool.

At the beginning of the workshop, I learned about the Gestalt principle and how it is used to organize and separate visual elements into a single image. During the discussion, we had the opportunity to vote on what design principles applied in real-life cases, which made the session more interactive and helped me stay focused. We also examined examples of movie posters and design fails, which helped me learn more about choosing appropriate fonts for different themes and purposes. After the discussion, I particularly enjoyed watching the opening sequence of The Morning Show as an example of how design principles are applied in practice.

Together with other participants, I also had a chance to create an Instagram profile template as part of the exercise, which made the learning process more engaging and enjoyable. After the training, I also received useful tips, briefs, and general guidance in a single practice file, as well as additional tasks for practice.”

To conclude, this event did not only focus on the development of new skills, but also illustrated how digital design influences the perception of any piece of art or even a show. Therefore, this course was not only an introduction to the digital design field but also a useful hands-on experience for the participants that broadened their understanding of the implementation of the design practice.

The event was organised as part of the Central Baltic Mentoring for Migrant Women seeking Employment (CeMeWe) project funded by INTERREG, which aims to strengthen employment opportunities and support professional development of migrant women in the Central Baltic region.