Dear designers, it is about the tools

I’ve read a number of articles talking about how design isn’t about the tools. “Tools come and go…” they’ll say, acting like a wise battle-hardened sage. But I’m here to tell you, it’s kind of about the tools.

Let me start by clarifying, I think the intention behind these comments is good. The idea that good design is about how you approach problems, and how good design can be accomplished on a whiteboard, etc. However, at some point, you’re going to have to sit down and open a design file, probably in Figma, and do the manual labor of design.