Spent 2 weeks comparing Figma auto-layout vs manual spacing in a real project

I was building a dashboard for a local coffee shop in Denver and tried doing all the spacing by hand on the first version. Took forever and kept breaking when I had to add elements. Switched to auto-layout on the second go and finished it in 3 days with way fewer headaches. Has anyone else noticed a major time gap between these two approaches on complex layouts?

2 comments

2 Comments

sullivan.john7d ago

...and it keeps happening in other areas too. I noticed the same thing when I tried to hand-code a simple CSS grid for a landing page versus just letting the framework handle it. Took four hours to tweak margins and padding, then I swapped to a grid system and had it done in one. It's like that old saying about working smarter not harder, but people still think manual control equals better results. In my experience, the tools are usually smarter than we give them credit for and the time savings add up fast once you trust them.

felix4887d ago

Wait, four hours? That's insane. I mean I get tweaking stuff but four hours on margins and padding feels like you were fighting the browser itself. Your mileage may vary but swapping to a grid after that sounds like the smartest move you could've made.