Yuhki Yamashita

Chief Product Officer at Figma

Yuhki Yamashita is CPO at Figma, previously a product leader and Head of Design at Uber, with experience at Google and Microsoft. He also taught introductory CS at Harvard.

The Operator The Visionary

Dimension Profile

Strategic Vision 80%

Execution & Craft 80%

Data & Experimentation 50%

Growth & Distribution 70%

Team & Leadership 65%

User Empathy & Research 75%

Key Themes

controversial product decisions as signal championing a new way of working collaborative design revolution building products people champion Figma multiplayer design narrative tension in products

Episode Summary

Yuhki Yamashita reveals how Figma turned controversy into advocacy: when early users said 'if this is the future of design, I'm quitting,' that narrative tension was a signal they were part of a revolution. He explains how to build products that equip users to champion not just a tool but a new way of working, and how Figma's multiplayer design fundamentally changed the design industry.

Leadership Principles

→ Controversy about your product is signal that you're part of a revolution and trying to change something
→ When your product equips customers with a narrative to champion, they'll advocate for you
→ Users aren't just championing a tool — they're championing a new way of working

Notable Quotes

"One of the first responses we saw to Figma was 'if this is the future of design, I'm quitting.' That narrative tension is signal that you're part of a revolution."
— On why controversial reactions to multiplayer design meant Figma was onto something

"Users aren't just championing a tool — they're also championing a new way of working. How do you equip your customers to want to talk about that?"
— On how Figma turned product advocacy into a movement

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