London hub becomes Figma's base for EMEA
Figma has announced it is opening a new office in London that will serve as its headquarters for the Europe, Middle East, and Africa region. The move is part of the company's broader shift to a hybrid working model, which combines remote flexibility with centralized "hubs" designed to keep the team connected to users worldwide.
According to co-founder and CEO Dylan Field, the decision to go public with the plans now—rather than waiting until it is safe to welcome employees back—reflects that an office is about more than physical space. Establishing a London presence means sharing working hours with more of the company's user base, attracting talent from a wider pool, and building a better understanding of local design communities.
Field notes that the global nature of Figma's users was apparent from its 2016 launch, claiming that 81% of weekly active users are located outside the US. That statistic prompted him to begin traveling to meet design communities around the world, a practice that he says has repeatedly taught him more about the product than expected.
That travel also exposed a practical limitation: inadequate time-zone coverage. In response, Figma hired a team of product specialists in Amsterdam in early 2019. Last year, Field had the chance to meet customers directly in London, Paris, Helsinki, Kyiv, Moscow, Jakarta, and Singapore.
The company decided earlier this year to build out a London team to better serve regional customers, including Deliveroo in London, Zalando in Berlin, Spotify in Stockholm, and Booking.com in Amsterdam. That group currently consists of 14 employees working remotely in the London area.
While Figma had hoped to inaugurate the EMEA HQ with an in-person celebration, those plans have been postponed. The office will open its doors once it is safe for employees to resume in-person work. In the meantime, the company is redirecting its energy towardConfig Europe, its first virtual user conference, which is intended to offer a space for sharing and learning across the community.
