Most people think design systems are “just components”. But the real value is decision-making infrastructure — consistency, maintainability, and better teamwork. Design Tokens make that scalable across platforms.
Read the PDF notes
If the PDF doesn’t load in your browser, use the download button above.
What’s inside?
This PDF contains my structured notes on Design Systems and Design Tokens based on Jina Anne’s thinking — including why design systems solve consistency + maintainability + people/process issues, why a component library isn’t the starting point, and how tokens create shared truth across platforms.
The big idea: tokens are decision infrastructure
Tokens are not just variables — they’re semantic design decisions stored as data. This unlocks theming, accessibility fixes, density modes, dark mode, and white-labeling by changing tokens, not rebuilding components.
Key concepts explored
Inside the PDF, you’ll find token layering (primitive → semantic → mapped), tree hierarchy logic, semantic guardrails, and a practical three-tier token framework: Brand → Alias → Mapped — which supports both Branded House and House of Brands models.