Important Figma Terminology
Learn the difference between a canvas, object, frame, group and section in Figma.
Canvas
In Figma, the entire area in which you can create objects is called your canvas. Your canvas is organized in layers that act very similarly to layers in other design software.
Learn how to change the background color of your canvas
Object
An object is anything you can create within the canvas, including shapes, text layers, groups of objects, frames and more. You can identify objects using the layers panel in the left sidebar.
Learn how to select layers and objects
Frame
In Figma, a frame is a layer that acts as a container to organize other layers into cohesive designs. You can nest frames within other frames to make more complex designs.
Frames enable features that make designing components more accurate to how they will behave in a web environment, including auto layout and constraints.
If you are used to using other design software such as Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator, you can think of a frame like a superpowered hybrid between a group and an artboard.
View Figma’s guide to frames in Figma Design
Group
In Figma, a group allows you to combine layers together so that they can be treated like a single layer. Groups in Figma work very similarly to groups in other design software.
Read Figma’s guide on when to use groups vs. frames
Section
In Figma, sections can be used to organize your canvas. This can be very helpful if you have dozens (or potentially hundreds) of frames in a single page.