From prank to pixelated pet

Figma’s April 1 tradition, known internally as April Fun Day, usually leans into playfulness and nostalgia rather than pranks. This year, that meant FigPals—customizable companions that users could create, name, and interact with across Figma products. The timing was no accident: the project grew out of a longer history of pet-inspired experiments inside the company.

FigPals originated at Maker Week 2023, when Product Designer Galaxia Wu, then an intern, proposed Figmagotchi: Tamagotchi-style creatures users could raise by feeding them sticky notes. A year later, a different team built FigPets, pixelated pets that roamed file toolbelts. Those early prototypes eventually evolved into FigPals, a limited-release feature built by a small cross-functional group of Figmates.

Users could choose from over 9,000 combinations of model, color, and accessory—ranging from a blue puffer fish wearing a leaf hat to a toast character in a beanie. Whatever form it took, the pal would follow the cursor and interact with other pals in the file. The team also seeded several easter eggs throughout, like the ability to feed pals layers and nodes or startle them by detaching components. A Night Shift-produced promo video, inspired by classic Furby commercials, introduced the pals in a retro '90s advertising style.

By the numbers

The FigPal rollout clearly struck a chord with users. In the first week, over 1.5 million pals were saved, and users collectively fed their companions more than 250,000 times. A handful of extremely rare pals—five total—exists as the only saved permutation of their particular model, color, and accessory combination. The most dedicated community member has saved 210 pals so far.

  • Pink cats lead: The pink cat with a heart speech bubble is the most popular pal; 13% of all saved FigPals are cats.
  • Personal connections: Multiple users have reported modeling their pals after their own real-life pets.

Engineer Noah Finer says the attachment was evident even during development. “There was a moment in development where I finally made the red snake follow my cursor around, and I kept it on for the rest of the day,” he noted. “When I started seeing myself literally becoming attached to this creation, I knew we had built something special.” Wu echoed that sentiment, calling it heartwarming to see so many people relate to “this intense feeling of affection for what's ultimately just a collection of pixels.”

A permanent keepsake

As the limited run wound down, community support grew for keeping FigPals around—including a petition with over 2,000 signatures at the time of writing. Figma extended the feature by an extra week in response, but the pals are now getting a more permanent home in a new form: a dedicated sticker pack.

The sticker pack gives users a way to keep commemorating the two-week run inside their files going forward. Attendees of this year's Config conference are also promised a special FigPal surprise.