Automating the work behind the scenes
Import content into Figma at scale without losing text formatting.
Context
Content rarely originates in Figma. It is written in spreadsheets, CMSs, internal tools, or translation systems. It then moves to the design team to become a presentation, brochure, landing page, or another visual asset.
When that content needs to be turned into dozens or hundreds of documents, automating the process is the logical next step.
The goal was to build a workflow where content could be updated once and automatically reused across every asset.
The challenge was preserving the content's editorial structure throughout the process.
The goal was to eliminate manual work between content and layout.
Solving the problem before Figma
My first decision was to prepare the content before importing it. I developed a small Google Sheets script that automatically converted editorial formatting into Markdown syntax.
This allowed content to move between tools without losing the information needed to reconstruct it later.
The challenge was not importing content. It was restoring its formatting.
The content could already travel. What remained was to close the loop in Figma.
Building the Markdown to Styles plugin
COMING SOON
That's where Markdown to Styles came in: the missing piece for connecting content to the design system.
The plugin automatically restores text formatting after it has been imported into Figma, reusing existing styles and creating missing ones according to the system's naming and structure.
For example, if the system includes Paragraph/Regular but not Paragraph/Bold, the plugin creates the missing variant while following the same naming logic.
Content can now move through the entire workflow without losing its editorial structure.
Use cases
- CMS
- Spreadsheets
- Documents
- APIs
- Databases
- Translations
- AI
Outcome
Automate the work nobody wants to do.
The workflow makes it possible to update one source, place content into Figma templates, automatically restore its styles, and generate dozens or hundreds of documents without having to lay out each one manually.
Designers no longer need to spend time recreating text formatting and can focus on reviewing, adapting, and designing.
- Automatic preservation of bold, italics, links, and lists.
- Compatible with any text-based content source.
- Less repetitive layout work.
- Ready for automated and AI-assisted workflows.