Applying constraints to Figma layouts for resizing

What are Figma constraints?

Figma is a powerful design tool for creating web and mobile interfaces, and Figma constraints are an essential feature of this software. Constraints allow designers to control the position and size of any layer, across multiple screen sizes, relative to its parent frame.

Constraints can be particularly helpful when creating responsive layouts because they allow you to dictate how a layer should behave on the x- and y-axes when its parent frame is resized. This allows you to determine how an element should scale or resize in response to changes in screen size.

Additionally, constraints can be applied to individual layers within a frame or groups of frames (known as nested constraints), which simplifies the creation of complex layouts to respond correctly across different devices and screen sizes.

In this post, we’ll explore the different types of constraints, learn how to use them, and see some tips and advanced techniques for working better with constraints.

• Types of constraints in Figma
• Applying constraints to Figma layouts
• Creating a responsive layout using constraints in Figma
  • Assets in the Figma file
  • Constraining the Navigation menu
  • Constraining the Hero section
  • Constraining the Floating action button
• Understanding the impact of layout grids on constraints

Types of constraints in Figma

There are two types of constraints in Figma — horizontal and vertical — that control the x- and y-axis, respectively:

The properties of the horizontal constraint include the following:

• Left: This property pins the left edge of a layer to the left edge of its parent frame. Regardless of changes to the parent frame’s width, the layer’s position on the x-axis will remain consistent in relation to the left edge of the parent frame
• Right: This property pins the right edge of a layer to the right edge of its parent frame. Regardless of changes to the parent frame’s width, the layer’s position on the x-axis will remain consistent in relation to the right edge of the parent frame
• Left and right: This property pins a layer’s left and right edges to the left and right edges of its parent frame. Regardless of changes to the parent frame’s width, the layer’s position on the x-axis will remain consistent in relation to the left and right edges of the parent frame
• Center: This property pins the center point of a layer to the center point of its parent frame. Regardless of changes to the parent frame’s width, the layer’s position on the x-axis will remain centered relative to the parent frame
• Scale: This property allows you to scale a layer horizontally as the parent frame’s width changes. This is useful when you want to maintain the aspect ratio of an image or icon, for example

The properties of the vertical constraint include:

• Top: This constraint property pins the top edge of a layer to the top edge of its parent frame. As the parent frame’s height changes, the layer’s position on the y-axis will remain the same relative to the top edge of the parent frame
• Bottom: This constraint property pins the bottom edge of a layer to the bottom edge of its parent frame. As the parent frame’s height changes, the layer’s position on the y-axis will remain the same relative to the bottom edge of the parent frame
• Top and bottom: This constraint property pins a layer’s top and bottom edges to the top and bottom edges of its parent frame. As the parent frame’s height changes, the layer will stretch or shrink vertically to maintain its distance from the top and bottom edges of the parent frame
• Center: This constraint property pins the center point of a layer to the center point of its parent frame. As the parent frame’s height changes, the layer’s position on the y-axis will remain centered relative to the parent frame
• Scale: This constraint property allows you to scale a layer vertically as the parent frame’s height changes. This is useful when you want to maintain the aspect ratio of an image or icon, for example

Applying constraints to Figma layouts

When you create a frame in a Figma file and add a layer inside the frame, Figma will give the constraint a default layout: Left on the x-axis and Top on the y-axis. You can observe this by clicking on the layer and observing the dashed blue lines surrounding it:

You can also choose to create nested constraints — a frame within another frame — to create more complex layouts. To create a nested constraint, hit the F key to select the frame tool and create two frames, with the second inside the first:

You will notice that the constraints of the inner frame (in pink) are applied relative to its parent frame (in red).

Creating a responsive layout using constraints in Figma

Now, we’ll move on to a practical example and see how to create a responsive layout by applying constraints to UI elements. I’ve prepared a Figma file that you can duplicate and follow along with. In the end, you will have created the layout below:

Assets in the Figma file

Our design file above consists of the following UI elements:

• A navigation menu
• A hero section
• A floating action button
• A UI element that uses a grid layout — here, you’ll learn how to use constraints effectively with grids

The file also contains a desktop frame with a preset grid layout for you to place the above elements. Because the Type of layout grid here isn’t Stretch, any element placed within the frame will have its constraints set relative to the desktop frame and not the grid columns — more on this momentarily.

Now let’s start designing!

Constraining the Navigation menu

Pull the navigation menu into the desktop frame and align it to the left edge. If you try stretching the menu from the right, you will notice that the Login button doesn’t behave how we want it to — stick to the right side of the menu:

To fix this, select the Login button and set the horizontal constraint to Right. This should now pin it to the right side of the menu.

But the menu isn’t fully responsive yet. If you stretch the menu to the end of the frame, then select the desktop frame and resize it, you will see that the with of the menu doesn’t sync with its parent frame.

You can resolve this by selecting the menu and setting its horizontal constraint to Left and Right. Now the menu will resize with the width of the desktop:

Constraining the Hero section

Bring the hero section into the desktop frame and align it along the vertical center of the frame. We expect this section to always stays at the center of the frame even when the frame is reduced — but, unsurprisingly, this doesn’t happen.

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To achieve this, set the horizontal constraint of the hero section to Center and leave the vertical constraint at Top.

Now the hero section will always stay at the center when you resize the parent frame.

Constraining the Floating action button

This type of button is often located at the bottom right of the screen. Pull the button into the desktop frame and position it at the bottom right of the screen. Now set the horizontal constraint to Right and the vertical constraint to Bottom, like so:

These constraints will keep the button pinned to the bottom right corner as the parent frame is resized.

Understanding the impact of layout grids on constraints

The last section of our layout contains UI elements for an onboarding process. The onboarding task element uses a layout grid to control the constraints of its child elements. Before we proceed, let’s closely examine how layout grids affect constraints in Figma.

The Type of layout grid applied to a frame in your design will directly affect the constraint behavior of elements within that frame.

For example, if you create a layout grid and set its Type to Stretch, the constraints of the elements inside that grid will be determined based on the bounds of the column or row in which the element is located:

Whereas, using any of the other types (Left, Right, Center) will set the constraints of elements within the frame to be relative to the bounds of the frame itself.

Now let’s continue. Import the section’s label and the layout grid element (onboarding task) into the desktop frame, then align them to its second column:

Tip: Use Cmd + ; (Mac) or Ctrl + Shift + 4 (Windows) to toggle the visibility of all grids in your artboard

The onboarding task element has a layout grid applied to it that consists of three columns. Apply a grid to any Figma element by clicking the + icon next to the Layout Grid option in the right panel. For this element, we’ll set the Type property to Stretch.

This will cause the icon’s constraints to be relative to the boundaries of the last column:

You will notice that on stretching this element, the icon doesn’t stay centered in its column. You can solve this by setting both the horizontal and vertical constraints of the icon to Center. This will ensure the icon stays centered across different sizes:

Now, one last thing: stretch this element to the end of the penultimate column of the desktop frame, then, set the horizontal constraint of this element to Left and Right so that it becomes responsive to the size of the parent frame.

And now you should have a fully responsive layout made using only Figma constraints!

Conclusion

Figma constraints are a powerful tool for designers to create consistent layouts that respond to changes in container size, and ensure that the layout remains consistent and visually appealing.

As a developer, I liken this feature to CSS positioning where the absolute and relative options in CSS allow for precise control over element positioning within a web layout. The parent element has a relative position, while the child element has an absolute position and uses the top, bottom, left, and right options to position itself in relation to the parent element.

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