Designilo

Creating a Multibrand Design System in Figma (Step by Step)

Introduction: One System, Many Brands

If you’re designing products across multiple brands—or managing white-label solutions—you’ve likely run into this problem: how do you support brand differences without duplicating your entire design system?

Figma makes it possible to create a multibrand design system that is scalable, flexible, and efficient. This guide walks you through how to set it up using components, variables, styles, and variants—without fragmenting your workflow.

1. Start with a Shared Core

At the heart of every multibrand system is a unified design language—a set of elements that stay consistent across brands:

  • Grid system
  • Spacing scale
  • Typographic scale
  • Basic components (buttons, inputs, forms)

Set these up in a Core Library, and separate brand-specific changes from structural ones.

✅ Keep this library clean and universal.

2. Use Figma Variables for Brand Tokens

As of 2023+, Figma supports Variables for:

  • Colors
  • Spacing
  • Typography
  • Booleans & Strings

Here’s how to use them for branding:

a. Create a Variable Collection for Each Brand

  • Brand A – Colors
  • Brand B – Colors
  • Brand A – Typography
  • etc.

b. Structure Tokens by Use

Use semantic naming like:

  • Color/Primary
  • Text/Heading
  • Border/Light

Switching between brands becomes a matter of switching variable modes.

✅ Result: One component → many brand skins.

3. Component Architecture for Brands

Use component instances and variants smartly.

a. Master Components in Core Library

Example: A Button component with base logic and layout.

b. Brand-Specific Overlays

Create a brand-specific variant, like:

  • Button / BrandA / Primary
  • Button / BrandB / Primary

These override visual tokens but keep structure the same.

Or even better—bind visual styles to variables so they switch automatically with the brand context.

4. Layout Pages by Brand

Set up file structure like this:

Core Library
├── Components
├── Tokens (Variables)
├── Layout Templates
Brands
├── Brand A
│   ├── Color Variables
│   ├── Typography Variables
│   ├── Logo Assets
├── Brand B
    ├── ...

Each brand can have its own usage documentation, examples, and asset libraries.

5. Theming with Variables (Mode Switching)

Figma allows you to switch between variable modes—perfect for brand theming.

Example:

You have a CTA Button that uses:

  • Color/Primary
  • Text/Button
  • Spacing/Medium

When you switch from Brand A → Brand B:

  • All those tokens update automatically
  • No manual overrides
  • No need to duplicate the component

✅ The same layout looks and feels different by brand.

6. Documentation and Contribution Guidelines

Your multibrand system isn’t just about components—it’s about clarity.

Include:

  • Brand guides (color, tone, logo usage)
  • Token tables (mapped to code if applicable)
  • File usage instructions
  • How to contribute brand updates without breaking the system

✅ Consider adding sticky notes, links, or plugins like Zeroheight for syncing to live docs.

7. Developer Handoff Across Brands

Once your components and tokens are hooked up:

  • Developers can inspect all brand variants directly in Dev Mode
  • Tokens can match exported CSS or JSON tokens in code
  • Brands get the same quality, faster

✅ This system plays well with tools like Style Dictionary and Themer.

8. Scaling for White-Label or SaaS Platforms

If your product supports theming (like SaaS dashboards, whitelabel apps), this multibrand approach allows:

  • Rapid onboarding of new clients
  • Easy duplication of flows with custom styles
  • Maintenance of a single structural foundation

🧠 Pro Tip: Use Booleans and String Variables for logo swaps, component visibility, or even toggling features by plan.

Conclusion: One System, Infinite Expressions

Multibrand design systems don’t have to be overwhelming. With Figma’s variables, component logic, and shared libraries, you can manage dozens of brands with a single system—and scale without chaos.

Structure your system with intention, name your variables well, and empower every team to design confidently—no matter the brand.

Next up: “From Wireframes to Production: Figma’s Role in Modern UI Workflows” — a practical walkthrough of how design flows through real product pipelines.

Ben Kemp
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