Design Token-Based mostly UI Structure
Design tokens, or “tokens” are elementary design selections represented
as knowledge. 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 call for tool
makers
to begin implementing and offering suggestions, the panorama of design token
instruments has advanced quickly. Instruments like code turbines, documentation
techniques, and UI design software program at the moment are higher geared up to help design
tokens, underscoring their rising significance in fashionable 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 concentrate on key architectural selections which can be typically troublesome to alter later, together with:
- The way to arrange design tokens in layers to steadiness scalability, maintainability and developer expertise.
- Whether or not all tokens must be made accessible to product groups or only a subset.
- The way to automate the distribution strategy of tokens throughout groups.
Function of design tokens
Round 2017, I used to be concerned in a big challenge that used the Micro
Frontend
Structure to
scale improvement groups. On this setup, totally different groups have been accountable
for various elements of the person interface, which might be even on the identical
web page. Every group might deploy its micro-frontend independently.
There have been varied instances the place parts can be displayed on high of
one another (corresponding 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 regulate the stacking order, typically counting on magic
numbers—arbitrary values that weren’t documented or standardized. This strategy
didn’t scale because the challenge grew. It led to points that took effort to
repair, as cross-team collaboration was wanted.
The problem was finally addressed with design tokens and I feel makes
an excellent instance to introduce the idea. The respective token file may
have regarded just 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 characterize the set of z-index
values that may
be used within the software 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 likewise be used to generate code, in a format that
every group requires. For instance, on this case, the token file may 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 originally introduced design tokens to streamline design
updates to a number of
platforms.
The Design Tokens Neighborhood Group describes design tokens as “a
methodology for expressing design selections in a platform-agnostic method 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 typical language
that aligns designers, builders, product managers, and different disciplines. By
providing a single supply of reality 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. - Instrument integration: Design tokens may be built-in into varied design
and improvement instruments, together with UI design software program, token editors, translation
instruments (code turbines), and documentation techniques. This allows design updates
to be rapidly mirrored within the code base and are synchronized throughout groups. - Know-how adaptability: Design tokens may be translated into totally different
applied sciences like CSS, SASS, and JavaScript for the online, and even used on native
platforms like Android and iOS. This flexibility allows design consistency
throughout quite a lot of platforms and gadgets.
Establishing a single supply of reality
A key advantage of design tokens is their potential to function a single
supply of reality for each design and engineering groups. This ensures that
a number of services or products keep visible and practical
consistency.
A translation
tool takes one or
extra design token information as enter and generates platform-specific code as
output. Some translation instruments may also produce documentation for the
design tokens within the type of HTML. On the time of writing, common
translation instruments embody Style
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 are able to automate the interpretation and distribution course of utilizing a
deployment pipeline for design tokens. In addition to platform-specific code
artifacts (like CSS for the online, XML for Android and so forth.), the pipeline may
additionally deploy the documentation for the design tokens.
One essential requirement is conserving design tokens below model management.
Fortunately, plugins for common design instruments like Figma already combine
with Git suppliers like GitHub. It is thought-about finest follow to make use of the
Git repository as the only supply of reality 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 provides this
bidirectional syncing. For detailed steerage on integrating Tokens Studio
with totally different Git suppliers, please check with their
documentation.
The device allows you to configure a goal department and helps a
trunk-based in addition to a pull-request-based workflow.
As soon as the tokens are below model management, we are able to 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 through an artifact
registry. This strategy provides product groups management over the improve
cycle. They’ll undertake up to date types by merely updating their
dependencies. These updates may be utilized not directly by means of 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.
Absolutely automated pipeline
Essentially the most easy method to design the pipeline can be a
totally automated trunk-based workflow. On this setup, all adjustments
pushed to the primary department shall be instantly deployed so long as they
cross the automated high quality gates.
Such a pipeline may include the next jobs:
- Verify: Validate the design token information utilizing a design token validator
or a JSON validator. - Construct: Use a translation device like Style
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. - Check: This job is very depending on the testing technique. Though
some checks may be performed utilizing the design token file straight (like checking the
coloration distinction), a typical strategy is to check the generated code utilizing a
documentation device corresponding to Storybook. Storybook has wonderful test
support for visible regression
checks, accessibility checks, interplay checks, and different check sorts. - Publish: Publish up to date tokens to a bundle supervisor (for instance,
npm). The discharge course of and versioning may be totally automated with a bundle
publishing device that’s primarily based on Conventional
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 through e mail or chat, so
that they will replace their dependencies.
Determine 3: Absolutely automated deployment pipeline
Pipeline together with handbook approval
Generally totally automated high quality gates will not be ample. If a
handbook evaluate is required earlier than publishing, a typical strategy is to
deploy an up to date model of the documentation with the newest design
token to a preview atmosphere (a brief atmosphere).
If a device like Storybook is used, this preview may include not
solely the design tokens but in addition present them built-in with the
parts used within the software.
An approval course of may be applied through 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 characterize design selections as knowledge.
Nevertheless, not all selections function on the similar 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.
For example, making particular person coloration decisions 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 strategy reduces the
variety of selections whereas sustaining a constant feel and appear.
There are three key sorts 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 parts)?
There are numerous names for these three sorts of tokens (as normal,
naming is the exhausting half). On this article, we’ll use the phrases proposed
by Samantha
Gordashko:
possibility tokens, choice tokens and element tokens.
Let’s use our coloration instance as an instance how design tokens can
reply the three questions above.
Possibility tokens: defining what design choices are supplied
Possibility tokens (additionally known as primitive tokens, base tokens, core
tokens, basis tokens or reference tokens) outline what
types can be utilized within the software. They outline issues like coloration
palettes, spacing/sizing scales or font households. Not all of them are
essentially used within the software, however they current cheap
choices.
Utilizing our instance, let’s assume we have now a coloration palette with 9 shades for every coloration,
starting from very gentle to extremely saturated. Beneath, 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": "$worth": "#ffffff"
Though it’s extremely helpful to have cheap choices, possibility tokens fall quick
of being ample for guiding builders on how and the place to use them.
Resolution tokens: defining how types are utilized
Resolution tokens (additionally known as semantic tokens or system tokens)
specify how these type choices must be utilized contextually throughout
the UI.
Within the context of our coloration instance, they may embody selections like the next:
- grey-100 is used as a floor coloration.
- grey-200 is used for the background of disabled parts.
- grey-400 is used for the textual content of disabled parts.
- grey-900 is used as a default coloration for textual content.
- blue-900 is used as an accent coloration.
- white is used for textual content on accent coloration backgrounds.
The corresponding choice token file would appear to be this:
{ "coloration": "$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 parts." , "text-disabled": "$worth": "coloration.choices.grey-400", "description": "Used for the textual content of disabled parts." , "textual content": "$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’d principally have an interest within the selections, not the
choices. For instance, coloration tokens sometimes include a protracted checklist of choices (a
coloration palette), whereas only a few of these choices are literally utilized in
the applying. The tokens which can be truly related when deciding which
types to use, can be normally the choice tokens.
Resolution tokens use
references to the
possibility tokens. I consider organizing tokens this manner 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 isn’t a bodily
separation implied. The diagram under 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 may be
applied as a UI element in some purposes, whereas different
purposes simply use the button
HTML component as a substitute. Part
tokens might be utilized in each instances.
Part tokens may be organised in a group referencing a number of choice tokens. In our instance, this references
may embody text- and background-colors for various variants of the button (main, secondary) in addition to disabled buttons.
They may 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 parts. 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 supply a
basic sense of which types to make use of in a given context, element tokens
present extra readability.
Determine 6: 3-layer sample
Observe: there could also be “snowflake” conditions the place layers are skipped.
For instance, it may not be doable to outline a basic choice for
each single element token, or these selections may not have been made
but (for instance firstly of a challenge).
Token scope
I already talked about that whereas possibility tokens are very useful to
designers, they won’t be related for software builders utilizing the
platform-specific code artifacts. Utility builders will sometimes be
extra within the choice/element tokens.
Though token scope shouldn’t be 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 each
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 may be modified or eliminated with out breaking
adjustments
A draw back of constructing possibility 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 develop into a problem in case of restricted availability of the
designers or if not all selections can be found, for instance firstly of
a challenge.
Sadly, there isn’t a standardized resolution but for implementing
scope for design tokens. So the strategy is determined by the tool-chain of the
challenge and can probably want some customized code.
File-based scope
Utilizing Fashion Dictionary, we are able to use a
filter to
expose solely public tokens. Essentially the most easy strategy can be to
filter on the file ending. If we use totally different file endings for element,
choice and possibility tokens, we are able to 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 strategy
If extra flexibility is required, it may be 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": "$worth": "coloration.choices.grey-200", "description":"Used for the background of disabled parts.", "public": true , "text-disabled": "$worth": "coloration.choices.grey-400", "description": "Used for the textual content of disabled parts.", "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 through the Figma
UI
(if utilizing Figma variables as a supply of reality for design tokens). It’s
accessible as
hiddenFromPublishing
flag through the Plugins API.
Ought to I exploit design tokens?
Design tokens supply vital advantages for contemporary UI structure,
however they is probably not the correct match for each challenge.
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 may need to (to a point) work together with Git
- Standardization continues to be in progress
Think about the next when deciding whether or not to undertake design
tokens:
When to make use of design tokens
- Multi-Platform or Multi-Utility Environments: When working throughout
a number of platforms (net, iOS, Android…) or sustaining a number of purposes or
frontends, design tokens guarantee a constant design language throughout all of
them. - Frequent Design Modifications: For environments with common design
updates, design tokens present a structured method to handle and propagate adjustments
effectively. - Massive Groups: For groups with many designers and builders, design
tokens facilitate collaboration. - Automated Workflows: In the event you’re aware of CI/CD pipelines, the
effort so as to add a design token pipeline is comparatively low. There are additionally
industrial choices.
When design tokens may not be crucial
- Small tasks: For smaller tasks with restricted scope and minimal
design complexity, the overhead of managing design tokens may not be well worth the
effort. - No situation with design adjustments: If the velocity of design adjustments,
consistency and collaboration between design and engineering will not be a problem,
then you may also not want design tokens.