Figma (Figma AI, FigJam, Figma Make)

The free two-year education plan with unlimited editors is the best institutional licensing deal in this directory — the only tool here a department can deploy to every student at zero cost with real administrative control. It is also the professional standard for interface and digital design, so time spent is directly employable. Higher-ed education accounts DO get AI features; K-12 accounts do not.

Running a live synchronous critique where 25 students annotate each other's layouts on one FigJam board. Building and documenting a component library for a semester-long identity system. Generating first-pass layouts with Figma AI that students then rebuild properly with auto-layout, teaching the gap between generated and constructed design.

The AI features are the weakest part of the product — generation produces generic, template-flavored layouts needing substantial rework. The two-year term expires and must be renewed; students who graduate or lapse lose editor access to their own files, which can strand portfolio work. Content-training defaults differ by plan and are not stated plainly — have IT confirm the org-level opt-out rather than assuming it.