Feb 28, 2022
In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, design systems have become essential for creating cohesive, consistent brand experiences across multiple touchpoints. As businesses grow, maintaining a uniform design language can become increasingly complex, but the integration of variables into design systems offers a transformative solution. Tools like Figma have leveraged variables to streamline design workflows and ensure scalability.
What Are Variables and Why Do They Matter?
Variables are the building blocks of modern design systems, allowing you to define reusable design values (e.g., colors, typography, spacing, shadows, and more) in a centralized manner. Once set, these variables can be applied across all design files, ensuring that any updates to a core design element are automatically reflected across all platforms. With variables, design teams avoid the need to manually update each instance individually.
But what makes variables a game-changer for businesses?
Key Benefits of Variables in Design Systems
Consistency Across Platforms
With variables, businesses can ensure that all their digital products, from websites to mobile apps, have a unified visual identity. This consistency helps reinforce brand recognition and provides users with a seamless experience across devices, fostering trust and user satisfaction.Speed and Efficiency
Design teams no longer need to make repetitive changes across various assets. By using variables, updates to design elements can be executed instantly across all design files, drastically reducing the time spent on manual tasks. This enhances team efficiency and allows for faster iteration, enabling quicker time-to-market for new features or product launches.Flexibility and Scalability
Variables make adapting to change much simpler. As brands evolve, variables allow for quick design updates across multiple platforms without requiring a complete redesign. Whether scaling to a new platform, launching a new product line, or implementing a rebrand, variables give teams the ability to pivot and adapt efficiently.Collaboration and Consistency Across Teams
With variables, collaboration between teams becomes more cohesive. Design teams, product managers, and developers can all access the same design definitions, ensuring that everyone is working from the same visual language. This alignment leads to fewer inconsistencies, less rework, and a stronger brand presence.Empowerment Through Automation
One of the biggest advantages of integrating variables is the ability to automate design changes. In large projects with many assets, automation reduces human error and ensures that design decisions are applied uniformly. This not only saves time but also allows for consistent design updates, especially when working with large teams or client projects.
How Variables Impact Your Design System's Longevity
As your organization’s design needs grow, so too should your design system. The true power of variables lies in their ability to future-proof your design system. By building your design system with variables, you ensure that as your brand evolves, your design updates will be scalable and easily managed.
Sustainability: As a design system matures, maintaining it can become a daunting task. But with variables, design updates are streamlined. For example, if your brand refreshes its color palette or typography style, the changes are reflected across all your designs instantly, minimizing disruption and promoting continuity.
Cost Efficiency: With a design system built on variables, you can avoid the costs associated with reworking designs manually. Teams can save on redesign expenses while still ensuring high-quality, consistent designs.
Conclusion: Building a Smarter, Scalable Design System
The integration of variables into your design system isn’t just a trend—it’s a critical step in creating scalable, efficient, and consistent digital products. From improving collaboration to ensuring brand consistency across all touchpoints, variables empower design teams to build systems that can easily scale as business needs evolve.
Designers and developers who harness the power of variables in tools like Figma can deliver design systems that are flexible, sustainable, and adaptable, making it easier to innovate without compromising on brand identity. As businesses continue to grow and design needs become more complex, variables ensure that your design system will stand the test of time.
