Design Token
A named, platform-independent representation of a design decision such as color, spacing, typography or motion.
Design tokens keep brand and interface decisions consistent across web, iOS, Android and design tools, so a change such as a new brand color can be made once and shipped everywhere.
A team defines a token named color-action-primary with a value of #0B5FFF in a JSON file, uses Style Dictionary to export it as CSS variables, Swift and Android resources, and rebrands all three apps by changing one value.
Tokens only help if naming is clear and teams use them instead of hard-coded values. Too many tokens become hard to manage, and tokens cannot capture every design decision, such as layout behavior or interaction logic.
Tokens are name and value pairs stored in a platform-neutral format, often JSON following the W3C Design Tokens Community Group format, whose first stable version (2025.10) was published in October 2025. They are usually layered: primitive tokens hold raw values, semantic tokens map them to purposes such as text or surface, and component tokens apply them to specific elements. Build tools transform tokens into platform code.
Systems Architecture
Design Tokens Community Group — Design Tokens Format Module 2025.10 — https://www.designtokens.org/TR/2025.10/format/; Material Design 3 — Design tokens — https://m3.material.io/foundations/design-tokens/overview