Rethinking Icon Workflows from Figma to Production

Lately, I’ve been experimenting with different ways to handle icon workflows from Figma to production, especially when working on design systems.

One thing I kept running into:

Most setups either:

• rely on huge icon libraries
• or require multiple disconnected steps (export → clean → generate fonts → integrate)

After a while, the process starts feeling fragmented.

So I started exploring a more “all-in-Figma” approach with a plugin called IconNova.

A few things stood out to me:

• Generating ready-to-use outputs (React, Vue, JSX, Tailwind, fonts) in one flow
• Keeping everything offline (no data leaving Figma)
• Managing selection, favorites, and export without jumping between tools
• Exporting only what’s actually used instead of entire libraries

The interesting part is that it started feeling closer to a real dev workflow rather than just a design tool.

I’m curious how others are handling icon handoff today in real projects.

Do you prefer:

• icon libraries (Iconify, Hugeicons, etc.)
• custom pipelines
• or something more integrated inside Figma?

Would love to hear what’s working well, and what still feels painful in your workflow.

If anyone’s curious, this is what I’ve been experimenting with:
https://www.figma.com/community/plugin/1619361051850350459