Found at “Why we should use real data to design in Figma · Kernel” on 2022-10-11 15:50:58.

Designing without real data leads to a whole host of problems #

• We look at the problem through a narrow lens
  We end up focusing on the optimal state, or perfecting pixels, instead of considering all the contexts and use cases someone could experience.
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• **This increases bias in our work
  **If we take a best guess to fill in the gaps of data ourselves, it’s not representative and relies on our own mental models. So we’re likely to miss things that are meaningful or important to users.
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• **Because of that, we make worse decisions
  **We can’t fully consider edge cases, errors and all the problems users might face without seeing real data and content in our designs.
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• **It takes us longer to get to the impact we want
  **When we test static designs, the quality and accuracy of feedback lacks detail. So we delay asking the right questions or spotting things that data would show us instantly. 
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• **The result? There’s a gap between the designs we make and the product our users interact with
  **This seems almost inevitable given that most tools over index on solving visual problems right now.

Kernel looks like a very interesting tool—at least in concept—that can connect an API to a Figma component to populate it. Unfortunately, at this time, it only works with static JSON documents and with Google Sheets.

A reasonable alternative is the Data Sync plugin.