Designilo

Introduction: Designing for Every Screen, the Smart Way

Figma’s latest version of Auto Layout (v5.0) brings even more power, flexibility, and control to interface design. Whether you’re building mobile-first screens, desktop dashboards, or reusable components, mastering responsive layouts is essential.

This guide will walk you through how to use Auto Layout 5.0 to create flexible, scalable, and device-ready UIs without constantly adjusting pixels by hand.

What’s New in Auto Layout 5.0?

Auto Layout has been around for a while, but version 5.0 introduces major upgrades:

• Min/max width and height controls
• Wrap behavior for horizontal/vertical items
• Absolute positioning inside Auto Layout frames
• Improved alignment tools
• Better handling of nested layouts

Together, these give you more control and less frustration—especially for responsive, real-world designs.

Core Concepts Refresher

Before diving into v5.0 specifics, let’s quickly review the basics of Auto Layout:

• Direction: Items are arranged vertically or horizontally
• Spacing: Set pixel gaps between child elements
• Padding: Adds space inside the container
• Alignment: Controls how items align in their container
• Resizing (hug, fill, fixed): Controls how width/height is calculated

Step 1: Use ‘Fill’ and ‘Hug’ Like a Pro

These three modes define how your elements scale:

Resize Mode	Description	Use For
Fixed	Static width/height	Logos, images
Hug Contents	Size matches the content	Buttons, tags
Fill Container	Expands to parent size	Columns, lists

New in Auto Layout 5.0: You can now set min and max constraints for Hug and Fill, giving you greater flexibility.

✅ Example: A card that fills 100% width but never gets smaller than 300px or larger than 600px.

Step 2: Wrapping Elements Inside Auto Layout

Previously, Auto Layout only stacked elements in a straight row or column. Now, you can wrap content automatically—just like CSS Flexbox.

Example: Tag Chips

1. Create text labels inside an Auto Layout frame
2. Set direction to horizontal
3. Enable Wrap in the right panel
4. Set spacing and padding

Result: Tags wrap onto a new line when there’s no space left—perfect for responsive chips, filters, or icon menus.

Step 3: Absolute Positioning Inside Auto Layout

You can now place certain items outside the flow of Auto Layout.

Use Case: Close Button in a Modal

1. Create a modal with Auto Layout for title, body, and footer
2. Add a close icon and right-click → Absolute Position
3. Place it in the top-right corner with manual pixel control

✅ Great for floating buttons, badges, or overlays within a structured layout.

Step 4: Responsive Cards and Grids

Let’s build a responsive grid of cards.

1. Create a parent frame with horizontal Auto Layout
2. Place 3 card components inside
3. Set cards to Fill Container
4. Add wrap and define min/max width
5. Test responsiveness by resizing the frame

💡 Result: Cards flow naturally across screen sizes—ideal for dashboards, e-commerce grids, or galleries.

Step 5: Nesting with Precision

Auto Layout 5.0 improves nested behavior. You can confidently build deep hierarchies like:

• Cards inside rows
• Rows inside sections
• Sections inside modals

Just keep these rules in mind:

• Set padding and spacing consistently
• Use hug/fill where appropriate
• Label frames clearly to stay organized

Step 6: Build Reusable Responsive Components

Design once, reuse everywhere. Here’s how:

1. Build a card or button using Auto Layout
2. Add resize behavior (Hug, Fill, Fixed)
3. Use Variants for different sizes, states, or themes
4. Test responsiveness by placing the component in different screen widths

Result: Fewer custom tweaks, faster design system growth.

Tips for Cleaner Responsive Layouts

• Use Auto Layout for every component—it’s worth it
• Avoid unnecessary fixed widths
• Align items with Space Between for equal distribution
• Use grids + Auto Layout for complex page-level design
• Start with mobile sizes, then expand

Conclusion: Responsive Done Right

Figma’s Auto Layout 5.0 gives designers true flexibility to build smart, adaptable layouts—no hacks, no extra frames, and no headaches.

Once you start thinking in Auto Layout, you’ll design faster, hand off cleaner, and scale better.

In the next article, we’ll explore “Figma Dev Mode: Everything Developers Need to Know”—so your beautifully responsive layouts get built the right way.