Re: [community-group] The Designer’s Workflow (#43)

I know color and type are the main use cases, I'll just be a bit more generic in my description. I'm probably repeating some elements from previous comments.

Here's my ideal design tool token flow (something I've been trying to create for 30+ products in multiple families)

- **Consumption**
  - I load design token descriptions and themes into my design tool via:
    - Token/theme files
    - Synced Design Systems
    - Creating them in the tool if I have the sufficient privileges.
  - The tokens have the following properties
    - They come with usage documentation if to help me pick the correct contextual/abstract tokens to apply to my designs. (Especially when there can be multiple tokens with the same value)
    - They can nest into, transform from or link to other tokens.
    - Tokens of different type can group into compound tokens (i.e. styles)
- **Usage**
  - Tokens can be applied wherever a value of the same type (color, distance, weight etc.) can be applied.
  - Even where tokens can't be applied, they can be attached as to pseudo annotation elements so that they show up upon export. (This might need to be used for describing things such as spacings, where a value can't always be applied)
  - Styles and tokens can overlap/coexist on the same element, on a conflict they follow CSS like override/inherit behaviours.
  - Themes can be applied locally or globally on elements/groups, they also follow CSS like override/inherit behaviours.
  - Depending upon policy settings I might be warned, or not be allowed to use ad hoc measurements, requesting/forcing me to always use tokens and themes.
  - I can see audit trails of global changes when they happen in the synced tokens / themes from the design system.
  - All applied tokens display their currently themed values.
- **Export**
  - The list of tokens/styles/themes applied are present in a styleguide export.
  - There is an api consumable list of all applied themes/styles/tokens exportable if needed - ideally this should go from the design system to the developers directly, not from the designer's tool.
  - There is an 'inspector mode' view of the designs which others can access, where the design and element specs are viewable not just as values but as token/style/theme names including overrides, cascades and inherits. (along with DS component names and any other annotations I provide, but that's not in the scope of tokens)
  - Additionally, a hybrid version of the token list per screen which still maintains the element-token/style links yet allows the developers to check them off and tells them if they've missed any.

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Received on Tuesday, 13 October 2020 19:30:08 UTC