Inconsistent colors, mismatched spacings, hard-coded values — sound familiar? That’s what happens when your design system lacks structure. Without a solid foundation, even the most beautiful components can become unmanageable as your product grows. That’s where design tokens come in. These small, structured variables bring consistency and clarity to UI design, making it easier to scale across platforms, maintain themes like light and dark mode, and hand off cleanly to development.
This article explains how to use design tokens in Figma to build flexible, modern UI systems that are scalable by nature and friendly to both designers and developers.
What Are Design Tokens?
Design tokens are named values used to represent design decisions like color, spacing, typography, and shadows. Instead of inserting raw hex codes or pixel values into your components, you assign semantic variables that can be reused throughout your system. For example, instead of applying #007AFF directly, you’d use something like --color-brand-primary. Instead of writing 16px again and again, you’d use --spacing-md.
In Figma, tokens are implemented using Variables. These variables are grouped into collections such as “Color / Light,” “Color / Dark,” “Typography,” or “Spacing.” This structure lets you treat tokens much like CSS variables — centralized, reusable, and theme-aware.
Why Use Tokens Instead of Styles?
The benefits of using tokens over traditional styles or local overrides are significant. First, they enforce visual consistency across components. When your buttons, modals, and cards all pull from the same spacing or color tokens, small mismatches disappear. Second, tokens make theming effortless. Switching to dark mode becomes as simple as changing the values behind your tokens — the component structure stays intact. Third, they improve developer handoff by mirroring the logic used in code, meaning there’s less guesswork during implementation. And finally, tokens make your system more maintainable. Update a single value and see the changes reflected instantly across the product.
How to Set Up Design Tokens in Figma
To start, open the Variables panel in Figma and create token collections for key categories like color, spacing, typography, radii, and shadows. Use semantic names for your tokens — for example, --color-bg, --color-text-primary, --spacing-sm, or --radius-lg. Avoid naming based on raw values or palettes (like --gray-700) and instead focus on purpose-driven naming that reflects use.
Once tokens are created, apply them directly to components. This means using token variables for fills, strokes, text styles, corner radii, and spacing. Avoid hard-coded values or overrides. The goal is for your entire system to be token-driven — not style-driven.
For theming, use Figma’s built-in variable modes. Keep token names the same across light and dark themes — for example, --color-surface — and only change the value assigned to each mode. This lets you swap themes across your entire design system without restructuring components.
It’s also a good practice to organize tokens in two layers: primitives and semantics. Primitives represent raw values, like --blue-500 or --gray-100, while semantic tokens define their role in the UI, like --color-bg or --color-alert. This separation allows your system to support rebranding or visual refreshes without disrupting the underlying logic.
To test how your token system behaves, set up a demo frame that includes key components. Apply light mode, toggle to dark, and observe the changes. This makes it easy to catch any missing token links and ensure a smooth theming experience across the board.
Making Developer Handoff Easier
Tokens don’t just help designers — they significantly streamline developer collaboration. Export your tokens as a JSON map or sync them through platforms like Style Dictionary, Tokens Studio, or Figma’s Dev Mode. Maintain naming conventions that match development practices, such as colorPrimary, spacingMd, or fontBody. When developers see familiar, well-structured naming, they’re far more likely to implement the system as intended — no translation or approximation required.
How Voit Implements Tokens at Scale
The Voit design system is built entirely on tokens. With over 550 design tokens supporting light and dark modes, every component in Voit — from spacing to corner radius to typography — is connected to semantic, variable-driven values. This makes the system brand-friendly, theme-ready, and highly adaptable for developers. There are no hard-coded values. Everything is dynamic and future-proof. If you’re looking for a scalable, token-first UI system, Voit is ready to use right out of the box.
Final Thoughts
Design tokens are more than just a Figma feature — they’re the foundation of a modern design system. Whether you’re creating a UI kit for a side project or managing a large-scale product with multiple themes and platforms, tokens offer clarity, flexibility, and speed. They help you build systems that are consistent from the first screen to the last, and that stay maintainable as your product evolves. If your workflow still relies on fixed values and manual tweaks, this is your sign to start using tokens. Your future self — and your developers — will thank you.
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