Figma Design Chief: Music Training Powers Tech Creativity

A simple question in a Bucharest kitchen changed everything for 7-year-old Loredana Crisan. When her mother asked if she wanted to learn piano, she said yes, launching a musical journey that would unexpectedly shape her future in tech.

Crisan dedicated years to classical piano at a conservatory in Romania. As a teenager, she rebelled against classical constraints and dove into techno and music production during Romania's transition from communism to Western openness.

That passion brought her to San Francisco as a sound engineer and music producer. But she quickly realized the recording industry lived in Los Angeles, not the Bay Area, leaving her with two choices: follow the music south or try something completely new.

She chose the startup life, joining a company called Lexy as a sound engineer to prototype audio interfaces. Even without visual design training, she understood what it felt like to create comfortably in a medium, and that sparked a deep desire to master pixels the way she'd mastered sound.

Her approach was pure apprenticeship, the same method she'd used with piano. Just as she'd learned to hear music deeply, she taught herself to see design with the same sensitivity.

Why This Inspires

Now as Figma's Chief Design Officer, Crisan brings her artistic philosophy to technology. "If we are successful, we make people feel something as a result of our work," she explains, treating user experience like composition.

She's also passionate about neuroscience and how our brains respond to different environments. Taking walks without any stimulation lets her mind's default network surface, where the best ideas emerge naturally.

To fight burnout on her teams, Crisan uses a simple framework: purpose, progress, and community. When all three stay balanced, work remains meaningful and people thrive instead of burning out.

Her cross-disciplinary path proves that creativity isn't confined to traditional arts, it powers innovation everywhere.