
Hi there! I’m Matúš, a UX/UI designer at ableneo. In this blog, you’ll discover how design tokens can simplify life for everyone involved in UX/UI and frontend development, including business stakeholders, designers, and developers.
Let’s dive into it.
How do tokens work?
Tokens in Figma are essentially variables for design properties. Instead of hardcoding a specific value — like a color #FF5733 — we assign it to a token such as primary-color. This abstraction layer allows flexibility.
For example, if the primary color changes to #4CAF50, you update the token, and all linked elements reflect the new value instantly.
Tokens also ensure cross-platform consistency: the same values are used in web, mobile, and other platforms.
Tokens can further represent a range of properties like colors, font sizes, spacing, shadows, or even motion properties like easing or duration:



Why tokens are a game-changer
Design tokens help maintain scalability and consistency, bridging the gap between design and development.
Here’s why tokens matter:
- Scalability: Let’s say you want to update your brand color. With tokens, you change it in one place, and it’s instantly reflected across all designs and code.
- Bridging the gap between design and development: Tokens create a shared language between designers and developers. If I specify a token for padding (e.g., spacing-md), the developer knows exactly what value to use in the CSS code.
- Global updates: Tokens allow us to adapt to changes in brand identity or platform requirements without having to redesign everything from scratch.
How to technically automate the tokens in Figma?
Imagine a situation when a designer changes some token and this change is therefore automatically propagated to the code as well. Cool, eh?
Automating tokens in Figma is probably one of the biggest value adders in the UI/UX and frontend development world. Here are the key methods:
a. Plugins: Tools like Figma Tokens Studio allow designers to:
- Define and manage tokens for colors, typography, spacing, shadows, and more.
- Create token sets (for themes, dark mode, platforms, etc.).
- Export tokens in JSON format, which can be used directly by developers.
- Connect tokens to Figma styles, ensuring a single source of truth across designs.
With Tokens Studio, designers no longer need to manually update styles. Instead, they edit a token, and all linked elements automatically reflect the change.

b. Integration with DesignOps: Many companies use tools like Style Dictionary or Tokens Studio to sync design tokens with codebases.
To truly automate token updates, teams integrate them into their DesignOps and development workflows using tools like:
- Style Dictionary — A powerful open-source tool that converts design tokens from JSON into formats like CSS variables, SCSS, JavaScript, iOS (Swift), and Android (XML). This ensures:
- GitHub & API Syncing — Many teams connect Figma Tokens Studio to GitHub repositories, allowing tokens to be stored and versioned like code. This ensures that every design update is trackable, reviewable, and instantly available to developers.
- Custom Automation Scripts — Some companies create Node.js scripts that pull token updates directly from Figma’s API and inject them into frontend code, eliminating any manual copying.

c. Automation workflows: Developers can use tools to pull token files from Figma directly into their repositories, ensuring the latest values are always in sync.
To achieve full automation, design token updates should be linked to CI/CD pipelines so that any change made in Figma automatically updates the codebase.
How It Works:
- A designer updates a token in Figma (e.g., primary color changes to #4CAF50).
- Tokens Studio exports the update in JSON format.
- A CI/CD tool (e.g., GitHub Actions) detects the change and triggers a build.
- Style Dictionary or a similar tool converts the tokens into CSS, SCSS, or platform-specific formats.
- The updated tokens are automatically applied to the frontend, eliminating manual intervention.
How does it look in code?
Here’s an example of how tokens translate to code. Let’s say we have a token for a primary button color.

How tokens help the companies and their developers
Design systems in Figma, paired with well-organized tokens, make the lives of the developers so much easier:
- Reduced guesswork & time spent on discussions: Developers don’t have to guess what a design means or rely on vague instructions. Every token is clearly defined and all information can be found in Figma.
- Faster implementation: When tokens are mapped directly to the codebase and automatized, there are less tasks to be done by the developers (for example updating a value of a primary color, which can be done by the designers only).
- Brand consistency: Consistent design tokens strengthens brand identity. Users come to recognize and trust your product, which is a competitive advantage.
- Cost savings & efficiency: Reusing tokens means less design and development time for every feature. It further eliminates repetitive tasks, allowing teams to focus on innovation and solving real problems.
Do you use design tokens?
We at ableneo believe that tokens is an essential concept that must be integrated in every scalable long-term project in order to develop frontend effectively. However, despite their potential, tokens are still underutilised. Here’s why:
- Lack of awareness & knowledge: Many teams simply don’t know about tokens or their benefits.
- Initial effort: Setting up a token system requires time and alignment between design and development teams.
- Complexity in implementation: Without proper tools or workflows, managing tokens can feel overwhelming.
A designer’s takeaway
For me, using design tokens is more than just a task — it’s a mindset. It’s about creating a foundation that empowers everyone: business stakeholders, designers, developers, and ultimately, the users.
With design tokens, teams can adapt quickly to changes, as updates of a token automatically propagate across all instances where it’s used (in Figma). This saves time, eliminates repetitive work, and simplifies maintenance. They also make systems easier to implement globally across multiple devices, platforms, and brands.
Use existing tools and methods to automatize also the propagation of updates of tokens between Figma and code to unlock the full potential with impact on the efficiency of your frontend development!
So, if you’re not already using design tokens, consider taking the leap. It might seem like extra effort at first, but trust me — it pays off in ways you’ll notice every single day.
Let’s keep designing smarter, not harder!
The power of design tokens: a UX/UI designer’s perspective was originally published in ableneo tech & transformation on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.