Design Tokens: A 20-Minute Checklist for Frontend Teams

Design tokens are the smallest building blocks of a scalable design system. They translate every visual choice – colors, typography, spacing – into reusable, machine-readable variables. If you’ve ever struggled to align Figma with production CSS, tokens are the missing link.

Here’s your 20-minute design token checklist to bring order to chaos:

1. Inventory existing styles.
   Export your current colors, fonts, and spacings from Figma or CSS. Redundancy is your biggest enemy.
2. Merge duplicates.
   If two blues look identical on-screen, pick one and deprecate the other. Less variance = faster design.
3. Name with purpose, not value.
   Use logical naming like color.primary or text.heading.large. It’s easier to read and refactor.
4. Tokenize states.
   Add tokens for hover, focus, and disabled. Accessibility and consistency live in these micro-interactions.
5. Automate the sync.
   Use tools like Tokens Studio + Style Dictionary to bridge Figma and code. Every token update should auto-sync across platforms.
6. Document your logic.
   A token without context is a variable without meaning. Write one-line intent for each: “Used for brand highlights,” “Used for error states,” etc.

Tokens make your design system flexible, not fragile.

Related: Design Systems in 2025