UI Design System

UI Design System

Generate design tokens, create color palettes, calculate typography scales, build component systems, and prepare developer handoff documentation.

Table of Contents

• Trigger Terms
• Workflows
  • Workflow 1: Generate Design Tokens
  • Workflow 2: Create Component System
  • Workflow 3: Responsive Design
  • Workflow 4: Developer Handoff
• Tool Reference
• Quick Reference Tables
• Knowledge Base

Trigger Terms

Use this skill when you need to:

• "generate design tokens"
• "create color palette"
• "build typography scale"
• "calculate spacing system"
• "create design system"
• "generate CSS variables"
• "export SCSS tokens"
• "set up component architecture"
• "document component library"
• "calculate responsive breakpoints"
• "prepare developer handoff"
• "convert brand color to palette"
• "check WCAG contrast"
• "build 8pt grid system"

Workflows

Workflow 1: Generate Design Tokens

Situation: You have a brand color and need a complete design token system.

Steps:

1. Identify brand color and style

   • Brand primary color (hex format)
   • Style preference: modern | classic | playful

2. Generate tokens using script

   python scripts/design_token_generator.py "#0066CC" modern json
   

3. Review generated categories

   • Colors: primary, secondary, neutral, semantic, surface
   • Typography: fontFamily, fontSize, fontWeight, lineHeight
   • Spacing: 8pt grid-based scale (0-64)
   • Borders: radius, width
   • Shadows: none through 2xl
   • Animation: duration, easing
   • Breakpoints: xs through 2xl

4. Export in target format

   # CSS custom properties
   python scripts/design_token_generator.py "#0066CC" modern css > design-tokens.css
   
   # SCSS variables
   python scripts/design_token_generator.py "#0066CC" modern scss > _design-tokens.scss
   
   # JSON for Figma/tooling
   python scripts/design_token_generator.py "#0066CC" modern json > design-tokens.json
   

5. Validate accessibility

   • Check color contrast meets WCAG AA (4.5:1 normal, 3:1 large text)
   • Verify semantic colors have contrast colors defined

Workflow 2: Create Component System

Situation: You need to structure a component library using design tokens.

Steps:

1. Define component hierarchy

   • Atoms: Button, Input, Icon, Label, Badge
   • Molecules: FormField, SearchBar, Card, ListItem
   • Organisms: Header, Footer, DataTable, Modal
   • Templates: DashboardLayout, AuthLayout

2. Map tokens to components

   Component	Tokens Used
   Button	colors, sizing, borders, shadows, typography
   Input	colors, sizing, borders, spacing
   Card	colors, borders, shadows, spacing
   Modal	colors, shadows, spacing, z-index, animation

3. Define variant patterns

   Size variants:

   sm: height 32px, paddingX 12px, fontSize 14px
   md: height 40px, paddingX 16px, fontSize 16px
   lg: height 48px, paddingX 20px, fontSize 18px
   

   Color variants:

   primary: background primary-500, text white
   secondary: background neutral-100, text neutral-900
   ghost: background transparent, text neutral-700
   

4. Document component API

   • Props interface with types
   • Variant options
   • State handling (hover, active, focus, disabled)
   • Accessibility requirements

5. Reference: See references/component-architecture.md

Workflow 3: Responsive Design

Situation: You need breakpoints, fluid typography, or responsive spacing.

Steps:

1. Define breakpoints

   Name	Width	Target
   xs	0	Small phones
   sm	480px	Large phones
   md	640px	Tablets
   lg	768px	Small laptops
   xl	1024px	Desktops
   2xl	1280px	Large screens

2. Calculate fluid typography

   Formula: clamp(min, preferred, max)

   /* 16px to 24px between 320px and 1200px viewport */
   font-size: clamp(1rem, 0.5rem + 2vw, 1.5rem);
   

   Pre-calculated scales:

   --fluid-h1: clamp(2rem, 1rem + 3.6vw, 4rem);
   --fluid-h2: clamp(1.75rem, 1rem + 2.3vw, 3rem);
   --fluid-h3: clamp(1.5rem, 1rem + 1.4vw, 2.25rem);
   --fluid-body: clamp(1rem, 0.95rem + 0.2vw, 1.125rem);
   

3. Set up responsive spacing

   Token	Mobile	Tablet	Desktop
   --space-md	12px	16px	16px
   --space-lg	16px	24px	32px
   --space-xl	24px	32px	48px
   --space-section	48px	80px	120px

4. Reference: See references/responsive-calculations.md

Workflow 4: Developer Handoff

Situation: You need to hand off design tokens to development team.

Steps:

1. Export tokens in required formats

   # For CSS projects
   python scripts/design_token_generator.py "#0066CC" modern css
   
   # For SCSS projects
   python scripts/design_token_generator.py "#0066CC" modern scss
   
   # For JavaScript/TypeScript
   python scripts/design_token_generator.py "#0066CC" modern json
   

2. Prepare framework integration

   React + CSS Variables:

   import './design-tokens.css';
   
   <button className="btn btn-primary">Click</button>
   

   Tailwind Config:

   const tokens = require('./design-tokens.json');
   
   module.exports = {
     theme: {
       colors: tokens.colors,
       fontFamily: tokens.typography.fontFamily
     }
   };
   

   styled-components:

   import tokens from './design-tokens.json';
   
   const Button = styled.button`
     background: ${tokens.colors.primary['500']};
     padding: ${tokens.spacing['2']} ${tokens.spacing['4']};
   `;
   

3. Sync with Figma

   • Install Tokens Studio plugin
   • Import design-tokens.json
   • Tokens sync automatically with Figma styles

4. Handoff checklist

   • Token files added to project
   • Build pipeline configured
   • Theme/CSS variables imported
   • Component library aligned
   • Documentation generated

5. Reference: See references/developer-handoff.md

Tool Reference

design_token_generator.py

Generates complete design token system from brand color.

Examples:

# Generate JSON tokens (default)
python scripts/design_token_generator.py "#0066CC"

# Classic style with CSS output
python scripts/design_token_generator.py "#8B4513" classic css

# Playful style summary view
python scripts/design_token_generator.py "#FF6B6B" playful summary

Output Categories:

Quick Reference Tables

Color Scale Generation

Typography Scale (1.25x Ratio)

WCAG Contrast Requirements

Large text: ≥18pt regular or ≥14pt bold

Style Presets

Knowledge Base

Detailed reference guides in references/:

Validation Checklist

Token Generation

• Brand color provided in hex format
• Style matches project requirements
• All token categories generated
• Semantic colors include contrast values

Component System

• All sizes implemented (sm, md, lg)
• All variants implemented (primary, secondary, ghost)
• All states working (hover, active, focus, disabled)
• Uses only design tokens (no hardcoded values)

Accessibility

• Color contrast meets WCAG AA
• Focus indicators visible
• Touch targets ≥ 44×44px
• Semantic HTML elements used

Developer Handoff

• Tokens exported in required format
• Framework integration documented
• Design tool synced
• Component documentation complete

When to Use

UI design system toolkit for Senior UI Designer including design token generation, component documentation, responsive design calculations, and developer handoff tools. Use for creating design systems, maintaining visual consistency, and facilitating design-dev collaboration.

Covers: Trigger Terms, Workflows, Workflow 1: Generate Design Tokens, Workflow 2: Create Component System, Workflow 3: Responsive Design.