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The Collapsing Abstraction Layer

A thirty-year timeline of digital prototyping tools

Pixel EraIllusion EraComponent EraIntelligence Era1995200020052010201520202025Raster editorsVector designClickable prototypingCode-designAI generationMacromedia Fireworks×Photoshop (web UI era)×SketchFigmaAdobe XD×Framer (post-pivot)Axure RPBalsamiqInVision×FlintoMarvelZeplinPrinciple×Flash×DreamweaverFramer Classic×shadcn/uiCursorv0Claude ArtifactsReplit AgentBolt.newLovableClaude Code
Thirty-one years of digital prototyping tools. Each bar marks a tool's active life. Red dashed bars with a cross are tools that died. Era shading shows the four-epoch periodization from The Collapsing Abstraction Layer. Hover a bar for details. The tight cluster at the bottom-right is the Intelligence Era — the collapse itself.
  • 2005 Adobe acquires Macromedia ($3.4B)
  • 2010 Jobs: Thoughts on Flash
  • 2013 Adobe kills Fireworks
  • 2016 Figma public launch
  • 2020 Flash Player EOL
  • 2022 Adobe–Figma $20B deal announced
  • 2023 Deal terminated; $1B break fee
  • 2025 Figma IPO

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The Collapsing Abstraction Layer (essay)