Automating Design Token Updates

Introduction

Design tokens are a way to maintain a consistent design language across platforms. Automating updates to these tokens ensures that design changes are propagated efficiently, reducing manual effort and potential errors.

What are Design Tokens?

Design tokens are variables that store design-related information such as colors, typography, spacing, and more. They serve as the building blocks for a design system, enabling teams to maintain consistency across different platforms and products.

Why Automate Design Token Updates?

Automating updates to design tokens provides several benefits:

• Reduces manual errors
• Speeds up deployment of design changes
• Ensures consistency across platforms
• Facilitates collaboration between design and development teams

Automation Tools

Several tools can help automate design token updates:

• Style Dictionary
• PostCSS
• Gulp
• Webpack

Step-by-Step Process

The following flowchart illustrates the process of automating design token updates:

        graph TD;
            A[Start] --> B{Design Change?};
            B -- Yes --> C[Update Design Tokens];
            B -- No --> D[No Action Needed];
            C --> E[Run Automation Script];
            E --> F[Deploy Changes];
            D --> F;
            F --> G[End];
        

            const StyleDictionary = require('style-dictionary');

            StyleDictionary.extend({
                source: ['tokens/**/*.json'],
                platforms: {
                    css: {
                        transformGroup: 'css',
                        transforms: ['attribute/cti', 'name/cti/kebab', 'color/css'],
                        buildPath: 'build/css/',
                        files: [{
                            destination: 'variables.css',
                            format: 'css'
                        }]
                    }
                }
            }).buildAllPlatforms();
            

Best Practices

Here are some best practices to consider:

• Keep design tokens organized in a structured format
• Utilize version control for tracking changes
• Incorporate testing to validate design token updates
• Document the automation process for team reference

FAQ