[community-group] [RFC] Glossary (#32)

nagueva has just created a new issue for https://github.com/design-tokens/community-group:

== [RFC] Glossary ==
So far, design tokens are the best way to soften the communication between design and development. For the first time, as designers, we are not dependent on tools to hand-off our work. We are developing an agnostic language that empowers everyone to build and manage design components collaboratively. That's great.

But, as facilitators in the communication across design and development, we still miss some major definitions that are beyond the design tokens per se. Some of those definitions have a consensus in isolated teams, but not in a broader overview.

Being in a team responsible for ensuring design consistency across hundreds of application, I can easily give a few examples:

> **Variation**
> What exactly is a component variation? If it is when a component changes, can we consider a hover effect as a variation? Are different themes in the same component a variation? Are variations just an additional component look?
> 
> **Behavior**
> What exactly is a component behavior? Is it how behaves in an application or how it reacts to different interactions?
> 
> **Theming**
> Is theming a definition for components or for the context where they are? If theming is for components, can I use them in different themes on the same screen? What sounds better: a blue button or a button inserted in a blue themed application?

We all know the answers - some of us probably have sound arguments on it - but we don't need to answer it now.

Since our goal is to harmonize the discussion, the real question is: why not have a glossary to support conversations and empower the beginners?

We are from different cultures, contexts, and areas. A glossary is a simple way to avoid misunderstandings and help all of us to communicate in the same way - especially in the long term, separating context from definitions. It can be a support for discussions, which is precisely the purpose of this group.

Please view or discuss this issue at https://github.com/design-tokens/community-group/issues/32 using your GitHub account

Received on Wednesday, 8 January 2020 11:39:26 UTC