Designilo

Design Tokens in Figma: What They Are and How to Use Them

Design tokens are the foundation of modern design systems. In Figma, they allow you to translate core visual styles—like color, typography, spacing, and radius—into reusable, consistent, and platform-agnostic values. Whether you’re building a small component library or a large enterprise system, tokens help you scale design with precision and clarity.

🎯 What Are Design Tokens?

Design tokens are named values that represent design decisions.

Instead of writing:

css color: #1A73E8;

You define:

css color: var(--color-primary);

In Figma, tokens act as the bridge between design and code. They’re used to manage:

  • Colors
  • Typography
  • Spacing
  • Sizing
  • Borders and radii
  • Elevation (shadows)
  • Motion (timing, easing)

🧩 Why Use Tokens in Figma?

Here’s why design tokens matter in UI design:

BenefitWhat It Means
ConsistencyReuse the same styles across pages, files, and teams
ScalabilityUpdate a token and every component reflects it
Developer-friendlyEasily translate tokens to code (CSS, JSON, etc.)
Multi-theme supportSwap values for dark/light modes effortlessly

🛠️ How Tokens Work in Figma

Figma now supports Variables—the native way to define tokens.

You can define:

  • Color variables (e.g. color.primary.base)
  • Number variables (e.g. spacing.md = 16)
  • Boolean variables (e.g. isDarkMode = true)
  • String variables (e.g. font.family.primary = Inter)

Apply them to:

  • Styles (fill, stroke, text)
  • Auto Layout gaps
  • Border radius
  • Component properties
  • Prototypes

🧪 Pro Tip: Organize your variables into collections like Colors, Spacing, Typography, and Theme.

🧱 Example: Using Tokens for a Button

Let’s say you have a primary button. You can tokenize:

  • Fill color: color.primary.base
  • Padding: spacing.sm and spacing.md
  • Border radius: radius.md
  • Font size: type.scale.200

Now, any update to your tokens will cascade across all button instances—instantly.

📦 Plugins That Help with Tokens

  • Figma Tokens Plugin – Create full token sets, export JSON, sync with GitHub.
  • Design System Organizer – Organize variables and manage inheritance.
  • Token Studio – Convert tokens into code-ready formats with multi-theme support.

🌗 Theming with Tokens

Want to support Dark Mode?

Figma Variables allow you to define:

  • color.bg.default = White (in Light)
  • color.bg.default = Black (in Dark)

Switch themes, and Figma updates all variables instantly. Tokens make multi-brand, multi-theme, and multi-platform design possible.

🧠 Tips for Managing Tokens

  • ✅ Use clear, semantic names (e.g., color.bg.card, not gray.100)
  • ✅ Group by purpose, not appearance
  • ✅ Keep collections lean—avoid duplication
  • ✅ Document token usage in your design system

🔄 Syncing Tokens with Code

Tokens are especially useful when synced across design and codebases. With plugins or APIs, you can:

  • Export to CSS, JSON, SCSS, or Tailwind
  • Sync with GitHub repositories
  • Share with development teams

🧠 Final Thoughts

Design tokens in Figma are more than a nice-to-have—they’re essential for building flexible, scalable, and future-proof design systems. They help bridge the gap between design intent and code execution.

Whether you’re managing a single product or a multi-brand suite, embracing tokens will streamline your workflow and supercharge your collaboration.

➡️ Next up: “Designing Dark Mode in Figma: Best Practices and System Tricks“

Ben Kemp
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