A weekend experiment that won the $50k Figma's Makeathon and ended up on billboards in San Francisco
CLIENT
Self-initiated:
Figma × Contra Make-a-thon
YEAR
2026
INDUSTRY
Creative Tools
+ AI Prototyping
Common Thread is a multiplayer embroidery sampler for the internet. Every visitor gets a patch on one shared canvas: pick a thread color, choose a stitch, and leave a mark beside people you’ll never meet. A hoop can frame and export any section.
A sampler is a practice cloth passed between hands and added to over time. I wanted to bring that idea online: one continuous piece of fabric, with a limited patch for each visitor and room for many anonymous contributions.
I built it for the Figma × Contra Makeathon, which invited new ideas for software interactions. With no engineering background, I made the first version in Figma Make in one afternoon. I used it to build the multiplayer canvas and controls, then designed the logo, elements and color palettes in Figma and brought them back as visual references.
The design began with the feeling of a shared craft rather than a feature list. Choosing a stitch and placing it beside another person’s work makes the interaction deliberate, even as the canvas keeps growing.
Common Thread won Best Overall and the $50,000 first prize.
The launch post reached more than half a million views on X, and visitors have left more than 300,000 stitches.
Figma later featured the work in an outdoor campaign in San Francisco with IVERSON and invited me to contribute to its magazine.
MY ROLE
Concept, Interaction Design, Visual Identity, Logo Design, AI Prototyping (Figma Make), Launch
