Design tokens, or “tokens” are elementary design selections represented
as information. They’re the foundational constructing blocks of design techniques.
For the reason that launch of the second editor’s
draft of the
design token specification in 2022 and the name for device
makers
to begin implementing and offering suggestions, the panorama of design token
instruments has advanced quickly. Instruments like code mills, documentation
techniques, and UI design software program are actually higher geared up to help design
tokens, underscoring their rising significance in trendy UI structure.
On this article, I am going to clarify what design tokens are, when they’re helpful and easy methods to apply
them successfully. We’ll deal with key architectural selections which are typically tough to vary later, together with:
- How one can arrange design tokens in layers to steadiness scalability, maintainability and developer expertise.
- Whether or not all tokens needs to be made accessible to product groups or only a subset.
- How one can automate the distribution strategy of tokens throughout groups.
Function of design tokens
Round 2017, I used to be concerned in a big mission that used the Micro
Frontend
Structure to
scale growth groups. On this setup, totally different groups had been accountable
for various elements of the person interface, which could possibly be even on the identical
web page. Every workforce may deploy its micro-frontend independently.
There have been varied instances the place elements could be displayed on high of
one another (comparable to dialogs or toasts showing on high of content material areas),
which weren’t a part of the identical micro frontend. Groups used the CSS
property z-index to manage the stacking order, typically counting on magic
numbers—arbitrary values that weren’t documented or standardized. This method
didn’t scale because the mission grew. It led to points that took effort to
repair, as cross-team collaboration was wanted.
The difficulty was ultimately addressed with design tokens and I feel makes
instance to introduce the idea. The respective token file would possibly
have seemed much like this:
{
"z-index": {
"$sort": "quantity",
"default": {
"$worth": 1
},
"sticky": {
"$worth": 100
},
"navigation": {
"$worth": 200
},
"spinner": {
"$worth": 300
},
"toast": {
"$worth": 400
},
"modal": {
"$worth": 500
}
}
}
The design tokens above symbolize the set of z-index values that may
be used within the utility and the title provides builders a good suggestion of
the place to make use of them. A token file like this may be built-in into the
designers’ workflow and in addition be used to generate code, in a format that
every workforce requires. For instance, on this case, the token file might need
been used to generate CSS or SCSS variables:
css
:root {
--z-index-default: 1;
--z-index-sticky: 100;
--z-index-navigation: 200;
--z-index-spinner: 300;
--z-index-toast: 400;
--z-index-modal: 500;
}
scss
$z-index-default: 1; $z-index-sticky: 100; $z-index-navigation: 200; $z-index-spinner: 300; $z-index-toast: 400; $z-index-modal: 500;
What are design tokens?
Salesforce initially launched design tokens to streamline design
updates to a number of
platforms.
The Design Tokens Group Group describes design tokens as “a
methodology for expressing design selections in a platform-agnostic means so
that they are often shared throughout totally different disciplines, instruments, and
applied sciences
Let’s break this down:
- Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration: Design tokens act as a standard language
that aligns designers, builders, product managers, and different disciplines. By
providing a single supply of fact for design selections, they be certain that
everybody concerned within the product life cycle is on the identical web page, resulting in extra
environment friendly workflows. - Software integration: Design tokens might be built-in into varied design
and growth instruments, together with UI design software program, token editors, translation
instruments (code mills), and documentation techniques. This allows design updates
to be shortly mirrored within the code base and are synchronized throughout groups. - Know-how adaptability: Design tokens might be translated into totally different
applied sciences like CSS, SASS, and JavaScript for the net, and even used on native
platforms like Android and iOS. This flexibility allows design consistency
throughout a wide range of platforms and gadgets.
Establishing a single supply of fact
A key good thing about design tokens is their potential to function a single
supply of fact for each design and engineering groups. This ensures that
a number of services or products preserve visible and useful
consistency.
A translation
device takes one or
extra design token information as enter and generates platform-specific code as
output. Some translation instruments can even produce documentation for the
design tokens within the type of HTML. On the time of writing, well-liked
translation instruments embody Fashion
Dictionary,
Theo, Diez
or Specify App.
Automated design token distribution
On this part, we’ll discover easy methods to automate the distribution of
design tokens to product groups.
Let’s assume our purpose is to offer groups with up to date, tech-specific
design tokens instantly after a designer makes a change. To realize
this, we will automate the interpretation and distribution course of utilizing a
deployment pipeline for design tokens. Moreover platform-specific code
artifacts (like CSS for the net, XML for Android and so forth.), the pipeline would possibly
additionally deploy the documentation for the design tokens.
One essential requirement is conserving design tokens beneath model management.
Fortunately, plugins for well-liked design instruments like Figma already combine
with Git suppliers like GitHub. It is thought-about finest observe to make use of the
Git repository as the only supply of fact for design tokens—not the
design device itself. Nevertheless, this requires the plugin to help syncing
each methods between the repository and the design device, which not all
plugins do. As of now, Tokens Studio is a plugin that gives this
bidirectional syncing. For detailed steerage on integrating Tokens Studio
with totally different Git suppliers, please seek advice from their
documentation.
The device lets you configure a goal department and helps a
trunk-based in addition to a pull-request-based workflow.
As soon as the tokens are beneath model management, we will arrange a deployment
pipeline to construct and deploy the artifacts wanted by the product groups,
which embody platform-specific supply code and documentation. The supply
code is often packaged as a library and distributed by way of an artifact
registry. This method provides product groups management over the improve
cycle. They’ll undertake up to date types by merely updating their
dependencies. These updates can also be utilized not directly by updates of element
libraries that use the token-based types.
Determine 2: Automated design token distribution
This general setup has allowed groups at Thoughtworks to roll out
smaller design adjustments throughout a number of front-ends and groups in a single
day.
Totally automated pipeline
Probably the most easy strategy to design the pipeline could be a
absolutely automated trunk-based workflow. On this setup, all adjustments
pushed to the primary department might be instantly deployed so long as they
cross the automated high quality gates.
Such a pipeline would possibly encompass the next jobs:
- Examine: Validate the design token information utilizing a design token validator
or a JSON validator. - Construct: Use a translation device like Fashion
Dictionary to transform design token information into
platform-specific codecs. This job may additionally construct the docs utilizing the
translation device or by integrating a devoted documentation device. - Take a look at: This job is very depending on the testing technique. Though
some assessments might be completed utilizing the design token file straight (like checking the
coloration distinction), a standard method is to check the generated code utilizing a
documentation device comparable to Storybook. Storybook has glorious take a look at
help for visible regression
assessments, accessibility assessments, interplay assessments, and different take a look at sorts. - Publish: Publish up to date tokens to a bundle supervisor (for instance,
npm). The discharge course of and versioning might be absolutely automated with a bundle
publishing device that’s primarily based on Typical
Commits like
semantic-release.
semantic-release additionally permits the deployment of packages to a number of platforms.
The publish job may additionally deploy documentation for the design tokens. - Notify: Inform groups of the brand new token model by way of e mail or chat, so
that they will replace their dependencies.
Determine 3: Totally automated deployment pipeline
Pipeline together with handbook approval
Generally absolutely automated high quality gates are usually not enough. If a
handbook assessment is required earlier than publishing, a standard method is to
deploy an up to date model of the documentation with the newest design
token to a preview surroundings (a brief surroundings).
If a device like Storybook is used, this preview would possibly include not
solely the design tokens but additionally present them built-in with the
elements used within the utility.
An approval course of might be carried out by way of a pull-request workflow.
Or, it may be a handbook approval / deployment step within the pipeline.
Determine 4: Deployment pipeline with handbook approval
Organizing tokens in layers
As mentioned earlier, design tokens symbolize design selections as information.
Nevertheless, not all selections function on the identical degree of element. As an alternative,
ideally, basic design selections information extra particular ones. Organizing
tokens (or design selections) into layers permits designers to make
selections on the proper degree of abstraction, supporting consistency and
scalability.
As an illustration, making particular person coloration selections for each new element isn’t sensible.
As an alternative, it’s extra environment friendly to outline a foundational coloration palette after which
resolve how and the place these colours are utilized. This method reduces the
variety of selections whereas sustaining a constant appear and feel.
There are three key kinds of design selections for which design tokens
are used. They construct on high of each other:
- What design choices can be found to make use of?
- How are these types utilized throughout the person interface?
- The place precisely are these types utilized (during which elements)?
There are numerous names for these three kinds of tokens (as traditional,
naming is the arduous half). On this article, we’ll use the phrases proposed
by Samantha
Gordashko:
choice tokens, choice tokens and element tokens.
Let’s use our coloration instance for instance how design tokens can
reply the three questions above.
Choice tokens: defining what design choices are offered
Choice tokens (additionally known as primitive tokens, base tokens, core
tokens, basis tokens or reference tokens) outline what
types can be utilized within the utility. They outline issues like coloration
palettes, spacing/sizing scales or font households. Not all of them are
essentially used within the utility, however they current cheap
choices.
Utilizing our instance, let’s assume we now have a coloration palette with 9 shades for every coloration,
starting from very mild to extremely saturated. Under, we outline the blue tones and gray tones as option-tokens:
{
"coloration": {
"$sort": "coloration",
"choices": {
"blue-100": {"$worth": "#e0f2ff"},
"blue-200": {"$worth": "#cae8ff"},
"blue-300": {"$worth": "#b5deff"},
"blue-400": {"$worth": "#96cefd"},
"blue-500": {"$worth": "#78bbfa"},
"blue-600": {"$worth": "#59a7f6"},
"blue-700": {"$worth": "#3892f3"},
"blue-800": {"$worth": "#147af3"},
"blue-900": {"$worth": "#0265dc"},
"grey-100": {"$worth": "#f8f8f8"},
"grey-200": {"$worth": "#e6e6e6"},
"grey-300": {"$worth": "#d5d5d5"},
"grey-400": {"$worth": "#b1b1b1"},
"grey-500": {"$worth": "#909090"},
"grey-600": {"$worth": "#6d6d6d"},
"grey-700": {"$worth": "#464646"},
"grey-800": {"$worth": "#222222"},
"grey-900": {"$worth": "#000000"},
"white": {"$worth": "#ffffff"}
}
}
}
Though it’s extremely helpful to have cheap choices, choice tokens fall quick
of being enough for guiding builders on how and the place to use them.
Determination tokens: defining how types are utilized
Determination tokens (additionally known as semantic tokens or system tokens)
specify how these fashion choices needs to be utilized contextually throughout
the UI.
Within the context of our coloration instance, they could embody selections like the next:
- grey-100 is used as a floor coloration.
- grey-200 is used for the background of disabled components.
- grey-400 is used for the textual content of disabled components.
- grey-900 is used as a default coloration for textual content.
- blue-900 is used as an accent coloration.
- white is used for textual content on accent coloration backgrounds.
The corresponding choice token file would appear to be this:
{
"coloration": {
"$sort": "coloration",
"selections": {
"floor": {
"$worth": "{coloration.choices.grey-100}",
"description": "Used as a floor coloration."
},
"background-disabled": {
"$worth": "{coloration.choices.grey-200}",
"description":"Used for the background of disabled components."
},
"text-disabled": {
"$worth": "{coloration.choices.grey-400}",
"description": "Used for the textual content of disabled components."
},
"textual content": {
"$worth": "{coloration.choices.grey-900}",
"description": "Used as default textual content coloration."
},
"accent": {
"$worth": "{coloration.choices.blue-900}",
"description": "Used as an accent coloration."
},
"text-on-accent": {
"$worth": "{coloration.choices.white}",
"description": "Used for textual content on accent coloration backgrounds."
}
}
}
}
As a developer, I might largely have an interest within the selections, not the
choices. For instance, coloration tokens usually include a protracted record of choices (a
coloration palette), whereas only a few of these choices are literally utilized in
the appliance. The tokens which are truly related when deciding which
types to use, could be normally the choice tokens.
Determination tokens use
references to the
choice tokens. I consider organizing tokens this fashion as a layered
structure. In different articles, I’ve typically seen the time period tier being
used, however I feel layer is the higher phrase, as there is no such thing as a bodily
separation implied. The diagram beneath visualizes the 2 layers we talked
about up to now:
Determine 5: 2-layer sample
Part tokens: defining the place types are utilized
Part tokens (or component-specific tokens) map the choice
tokens to particular elements of the UI. They present the place types are
utilized.
The time period element within the context of design tokens doesn’t all the time
map to the technical time period element. For instance, a button is perhaps
carried out as a UI element in some functions, whereas different
functions simply use the button HTML component as an alternative. Part
tokens could possibly be utilized in each instances.
Part tokens might be organised in a group referencing a number of choice tokens. In our instance, this references
would possibly embody text- and background-colors for various variants of the button (main, secondary) in addition to disabled buttons.
They could additionally embody references to tokens of different sorts (spacing/sizing, borders and so forth.) which I am going to omit within the
following instance:
{
"button": {
"main": {
"background": {
"$worth": "{coloration.selections.accent}"
},
"textual content": {
"$worth": "{coloration.selections.text-on-accent}"
}
},
"secondary": {
"background": {
"$worth": "{coloration.selections.floor}"
},
"textual content": {
"$worth": "{coloration.selections.textual content}"
}
},
"background-disabled": {
"$worth": "{coloration.selections.background-disabled}"
},
"text-disabled": {
"$worth": "{coloration.selections.text-disabled}"
}
}
}
To some extent, element tokens are merely the results of making use of
selections to particular elements. Nevertheless, as this
instance exhibits, this course of isn’t all the time easy—particularly for
builders with out design expertise. Whereas choice tokens can provide a
basic sense of which types to make use of in a given context, element tokens
present further readability.
Determine 6: 3-layer sample
Observe: there could also be “snowflake” conditions the place layers are skipped.
For instance, it won’t be potential to outline a basic choice for
each single element token, or these selections won’t have been made
but (for instance at the start of a mission).
Token scope
I already talked about that whereas choice tokens are very useful to
designers, they won’t be related for utility builders utilizing the
platform-specific code artifacts. Software builders will usually be
extra within the choice/element tokens.
Though token scope just isn’t but included within the design token
spec, some design
techniques already separate tokens into non-public (additionally known as inner) and
public (additionally known as world) tokens. For instance, the Salesforce Lightning
Design System launched a flag for every
token. There are
varied the explanation why this may be a good suggestion:
- it guides builders on which tokens to make use of
- fewer choices present a greater developer expertise
- it reduces the file measurement as not all tokens must be included
- non-public/inner tokens might be modified or eliminated with out breaking
adjustments
A draw back of constructing choice tokens non-public is that builders would rely
on designers to all the time make these types accessible as choice or element
tokens. This might turn out to be a problem in case of restricted availability of the
designers or if not all selections can be found, for instance at the beginning of
a mission.
Sadly, there is no such thing as a standardized resolution but for implementing
scope for design tokens. So the method relies on the tool-chain of the
mission and can most certainly want some customized code.
File-based scope
Utilizing Fashion Dictionary, we will use a
filter to
expose solely public tokens. Probably the most easy method could be to
filter on the file ending. If we use totally different file endings for element,
choice and choice tokens, we will use a filter on the file path, for
instance, to make the choice tokens layer non-public.
Fashion Dictionary config
const styleDictionary = new StyleDictionary({
"supply": ["color.options.json", "color.decisions.json"],
"platforms": {
"css": {
"transformGroup": "css",
"information": [
{
"destination": "variables.css",
"filter": token => !token.filePath.endsWith('options.json'),
"format": "css/variables"
}
]
}
}
});
The ensuing CSS variables would include
solely these choice tokens, and never the choice tokens.
Generated CSS variables
:root {
--color-decisions-surface: #f8f8f8;
--color-decisions-background-disabled: #e6e6e6;
--color-decisions-text-disabled: #b1b1b1;
--color-decisions-text: #000000;
--color-decisions-accent: #0265dc;
--color-decisions-text-on-accent: #ffffff;
}
A extra versatile method
If extra flexibility is required, it is perhaps preferable so as to add a scope
flag to every token and to filter primarily based on this flag:
Fashion Dictionary config
const styleDictionary = new StyleDictionary({
"supply": ["color.options.json", "color.decisions.json"],
"platforms": {
"css": {
"transformGroup": "css",
"information": [
{
"destination": "variables.css",
"filter": {
"public": true
},
"format": "css/variables"
}
]
}
}
});
If we then add the flag to the choice tokens, the ensuing CSS would
be the identical as above:
Tokens with scope flag
{
"coloration": {
"$sort": "coloration",
"selections": {
"floor": {
"$worth": "{coloration.choices.grey-100}",
"description": "Used as a floor coloration.",
"public": true
},
"background-disabled": {
"$worth": "{coloration.choices.grey-200}",
"description":"Used for the background of disabled components.",
"public": true
},
"text-disabled": {
"$worth": "{coloration.choices.grey-400}",
"description": "Used for the textual content of disabled components.",
"public": true
},
"textual content": {
"$worth": "{coloration.choices.grey-900}",
"description": "Used as default textual content coloration.",
"public": true
},
"accent": {
"$worth": "{coloration.choices.blue-900}",
"description": "Used as an accent coloration.",
"public": true
},
"text-on-accent": {
"$worth": "{coloration.choices.white}",
"description": "Used for textual content on accent coloration backgrounds.",
"public": true
}
}
}
}
Generated CSS variables
:root {
--color-decisions-surface: #f8f8f8;
--color-decisions-background-disabled: #e6e6e6;
--color-decisions-text-disabled: #b1b1b1;
--color-decisions-text: #000000;
--color-decisions-accent: #0265dc;
--color-decisions-text-on-accent: #ffffff;
}
Such flags can now even be set by the Figma
UI
(if utilizing Figma variables as a supply of fact for design tokens). It’s
accessible as
hiddenFromPublishing
flag by way of the Plugins API.
Ought to I take advantage of design tokens?
Design tokens provide vital advantages for contemporary UI structure,
however they is probably not the proper match for each mission.
Advantages embody:
- Improved lead time for design adjustments
- Constant design language and UI structure throughout platforms and
applied sciences - Design tokens being comparatively light-weight from an implementation level of
view
Drawbacks embody:
- Preliminary effort for automation
- Designers might need to (to some extent) work together with Git
- Standardization continues to be in progress
Take into account the next when deciding whether or not to undertake design
tokens:
When to make use of design tokens
- Multi-Platform or Multi-Software Environments: When working throughout
a number of platforms (internet, iOS, Android…) or sustaining a number of functions or
frontends, design tokens guarantee a constant design language throughout all of
them. - Frequent Design Adjustments: For environments with common design
updates, design tokens present a structured strategy to handle and propagate adjustments
effectively. - Giant Groups: For groups with many designers and builders, design
tokens facilitate collaboration. - Automated Workflows: When you’re conversant in CI/CD pipelines, the
effort so as to add a design token pipeline is comparatively low. There are additionally
business choices.
When design tokens won’t be needed
- Small initiatives: For smaller initiatives with restricted scope and minimal
design complexity, the overhead of managing design tokens won’t be definitely worth the
effort. - No challenge with design adjustments: If the pace of design adjustments,
consistency and collaboration between design and engineering are usually not a problem,
then you may additionally not want design tokens.
