Want to highlight key content while keeping your background from feeling too busy? Background blur—also known as the frosted glass effect—is a go-to trick in UI design. It adds depth, focus, and a polished look to your interface. The best part? You can do it in Figma in just a few simple steps—no plugins or complicated layers needed.Follow along with this quick guide to create the effect from scratch 👇
1. Upload your background image
Start by placing the image you want to blur on the canvas. This could be a screenshot, an illustration, or any background you’re working with.
2. Open the shape tool
Click the Shape Tools in the bottom toolbar. Choose a shape—rectangle, circle, or whatever fits your layout.
3. Draw the blur area
Use your selected shape to roughly draw the area where you want the blur to appear. Resize it to fit your design as needed.
4. Fill the shape with white
With the shape selected, go to the right-hand menu and click Fill. Set the fill color to white.
5. Adjust the fill opacity
Right next to the color picker, lower the opacity of the color itself (not the layer opacity above).
Tip: You can also drag the slider for a more visual way to adjust the transparency.
6. Add an effect
In the same right-hand panel, scroll down to Effects and click the + button to add a new effect.
7. Change it to background blur
By default, it adds a drop shadow. Click it and change it to Background Blur.
8. Tweak the blur strength
Now just adjust the blur value to your liking—higher numbers = more blur. That’s it!