Hello Kitty and friends want in on your brainstorms

Figma is bringing a little kawaii to the creative process, teaming up with Sanrio to introduce 12 of its beloved characters into its collaborative whiteboard FigJam, as the design platform looks to make everyday collaboration more playful.

Running from 1 to 8 November, the limited-time partnership marks Sanrio's first integration with Figma. It will see characters including Hello Kitty, Kuromi, My Melody, Cinnamoroll, Pompompurin and Pochacco make their way into FigJam, where users can incorporate them into brainstorms, group projects and other collaborative activities.

Users can select their favourite characters to personalise their FigJam experience with themed cursors, washi tape, colourful sticky notes and photobooth selfie frames. Figma's designers worked closely with Sanrio to bring each character's personality and colour palette into the product, while ensuring the additions do not get in the way of everyday work.

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The collaboration also extends into the Figma Community, where users can customise their profiles with their top three Sanrio characters and themed backgrounds. Other offerings include a Sanrio-themed playground file featuring FigJam tips and tricks, colouring book pages and a Figma Slides template for presentations.

For Figma, the partnership is rooted in a shared emphasis on creativity, self-expression and bringing people together.

"Figma is a place for collaboration and expression, with room for every idea and every tool you need to bring it to life. Sanrio's beloved characters will feel right at home in Figma, surrounded by a community that cares just as much about craft and creativity," said Nairi Hourdajian, chief marketing officer at Figma.

"This collab is a little nostalgic, a lot of fun, and a reminder that making things is even better with friends by your side."

Jill Koch, chief brand officer at Sanrio, Inc, said the collaboration brings Hello Kitty and Friends' spirit of friendship and creativity to a community that shares its love of self-expression.

"Hello Kitty and Friends have always been about friendship, creativity and bringing people together," she said. "Our collaboration with Figma brings that spirit to a community that shares our love of creativity and self-expression."

Taking the collaboration beyond the screen

The partnership will also extend into physical experiences, with Figma and Sanrio hosting a public birthday pop-up for Hello Kitty in New York City on 7 and 8 November.

Visitors can enjoy themed drinks, collect mystery character keychains, customise them at a charm bar and take photos with their new companions. The first 150 visitors each day will also receive limited-edition sweatshirts and patches.

Leading up to the pop-up, a themed photobooth will operate at 145 Allen Street in New York's Lower East Side on 6 and 7 November, offering visitors complimentary photostrips.

Beyond New York, Figma is tapping its global community network to bring the celebration to more markets. Friends of Figma community groups and Figma Campus Leaders will host more than 60 Hello Kitty and Friends-themed meetups across cities and campuses worldwide.

While the physical activations are centred on New York, the FigJam, Figma Slides and Figma Community experiences will be available globally.

Figma said it will measure the partnership's success through feature usage in FigJam, attendance at community meetups and the overall reach of the celebration across its channels.

It added that while this is a limited-time partnership, it remains open to exploring other creative collaborations that bring joy to its community.

From merchandise to everyday experiences

Figma's partnership with Sanrio comes as brands increasingly look beyond traditional merchandise to find new ways of bringing character IP into consumers' everyday lives.

In Southeast Asia, this has taken shape through a mix of retail, lifestyle and digital experiences. In August, MINISO brought Sanrio characters across five Southeast Asian markets through its "My sun-kissed party" campaign, featuring themed pop-ups, interactive installations, photobooths and limited-edition merchandise.

Meanwhile, Luckin Coffee's collaboration with digital sticker character Quby extended beyond beverages and collectibles, with animated stickers made available on platforms including WhatsApp, Telegram and WeChat. This gave the brand another way to bring its collaboration into consumers' everyday digital interactions.

POP MART has also been looking beyond collectibles to build broader experiences around its characters. Its move into food and beverage through POP BAKERY reflects a wider effort to create more opportunities for consumers to engage with its IP beyond the blind box.

Figma's approach takes this a step further by embedding Sanrio characters directly into a digital workspace. Rather than simply putting characters on products, the collaboration allows users to interact with them while brainstorming, collaborating and creating, making the IP part of an existing digital routine.

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