Figma for developers: Figma Styles, Typography and Variables

Introduction

In the previous post, Figma for Developers: Figma Layout, we explored how to create responsive layouts using frames, grids, and auto layout. Now, we're diving deeper into another critical aspect of design: maintaining consistency through styles, typography, and variables. Ensuring that colors, fonts, and other elements are applied uniformly throughout a project creates a more polished and professional look. For developers, this consistency is crucial because it simplifies the process of translating design into code. Figma for developers makes this seamless by offering reusable design elements, which not only streamline the workflow but also reduce the need for manual updates across designs.

Understanding Figma Styles

What Are Styles?

In Figma, styles are reusable design properties, like colors, text settings, and effects, that help maintain consistency across your design. For developers, this concept is similar to using CSS classes—styles can be applied across multiple elements, and when updated, those changes are reflected everywhere the style is used. This makes design updates quick and seamless, ensuring uniformity.

Creating and Applying Styles

To create a color style, select any element on your canvas, such as a button. In the Properties Panel on the right, click on the Fill color box. You'll see a four-dots icon next to it—click this, and select Create Style.

Name your style (e.g., "Primary Button Color"), and now this style is saved for reuse. Once created, you can apply this color style to other elements by selecting the element, opening the same color box, and choosing your saved style from the list.

Similarly, for text styles, select a text layer, and in the Text Properties section of the panel, click the four-dots icon next to the font settings. Here, you can create a new text style by naming it (e.g., "Heading Style"). This text style can now be reused across headings, body text, or other text elements in your design.

Practical Example: Creating a Consistent Color Palette

Imagine you’re designing a set of buttons for your project. First, create a Primary Button Color by selecting your button, defining the fill color, and saving it as a style. Now, apply this style to all buttons in your design. If you later need to change the button color, updating the color style will automatically update every button in your project. This keeps your design consistent and reduces the need for manual updates across multiple screens.

Typography in Figma

Setting Text Styles

Typography plays a huge role in creating a cohesive design system. In Figma for developers, text styles allow you to define reusable font settings, such as size, weight, line spacing, and letter spacing, ensuring consistency across your project. To create a text style, select the plus icon in the local variable panel

Name your style (e.g., "Heading Style" or "Body Text") so it can be reused across the project.

Applying Text Styles

Once your text styles are created, applying them is simple. Select the text element you want to style, navigate to the Text Properties panel, and choose the appropriate style from the dropdown list of saved text styles. This ensures that all text elements using the same style will remain consistent throughout the design, and any updates to the style will be reflected globally.

Practical Example: Apply Text Styles to Ensure Consistency

Let’s say you’re designing a website with multiple pages and need to ensure that the headings and paragraphs are consistent across all screens. Start by defining a Heading Style for your titles (e.g., font size 24px, bold weight) and a Body Text Style for paragraphs (e.g., font size 16px, regular weight). Apply these styles to all headings and paragraphs throughout your design. Now, if you need to adjust the typography—say, increasing the font size of headings—you can update the style in one place, and it will automatically change across all instances, ensuring consistency throughout your project.

Using Variables for Consistency

What Are Variables?

In Figma for developers, variables function much like CSS variables—they allow you to store reusable values such as colors, sizes, or spacing that can be applied across multiple elements in your design. By using variables, you ensure consistency and simplify updates. For example, if you define a primary color as a variable, you can apply it to buttons, text, and backgrounds. Later, if you need to change the color, you only update the variable, and it automatically changes everywhere it’s used.

How to Create and Use Variables

To create a variable in Figma:

• Select an element with the color or size property you want to define as a variable (e.g., a button or text).
• In the Properties Panel, click on the color or size setting, then click the four dots icon.
• Select Create Variable, name it (e.g., "Primary Color" or "Primary Text Size"), and save it.

Now, this variable can be applied across other elements in your project. For example, select another element, open the properties for color or size, and choose the saved variable from the list. This way, you can maintain consistent design choices across the entire project.

Practical Example: Creating a Primary Color Variable

Let’s say your project uses a primary color that appears in buttons, headers, and links. Create a Primary Color variable by selecting the color in a button, creating a variable, and applying it across other elements like text or backgrounds. Now, if you ever need to change the primary color, simply update the variable, and the new color will be reflected on every component that uses it.

Updating Styles Globally

Updating Styles Across Projects

One of the biggest advantages of Figma for developers is the ability to update styles and variables globally. If you’ve applied a color, text, or effect style throughout your project, updating it once will reflect the changes everywhere the style is used. This ensures consistency and saves time, especially in large projects.

To update a style, simply go to the Styles Panel, select the style you want to edit (e.g., a text style or color style), and make your adjustments. Similarly, if you’ve used a variable for colors or sizes, update the value in the Variables Panel, and the changes will automatically apply across all instances.

Practical Example: Changing Primary Color Globally

If you've applied a Primary Color variable or style to buttons, text, and backgrounds, changing it globally is simple. Just update the color in the Variables Panel or the Styles Panel. Once updated, all components using the primary color will reflect the new value, ensuring design consistency across your entire project without the need for manual updates on individual elements.

By leveraging styles and variables, Figma for developers makes it easy to manage and update design elements at scale, ensuring a smooth, efficient workflow.

5. Keyboard Shortcuts for Style Management

Mastering a few key shortcuts can significantly speed up your workflow when managing styles in Figma for developers. Here are some essential shortcuts to help you quickly apply and manage styles, typography, and variables:

• Alt + Ctrl + S – Create a new style (color, text, or effect).
• T – Activate the Text Tool for adding and styling text.
• Shift + Alt + C – Apply an existing color style to a selected element.

Using these shortcuts will make it easier to maintain consistency and apply styles across your design system efficiently.

Conclusion

In this post, we covered the importance of using styles, typography, and variables in Figma for developers to ensure consistency and scalability across projects. These tools not only help you maintain a cohesive design system but also simplify updates and reduce manual effort when making changes.

Now that you’ve learned how to create reusable styles and variables, it's time to start building your own design system. Experiment with applying these techniques to your projects and experience the benefits of streamlined design-to-development handoff.

In the next post, we’ll dive into Figma Components—another powerful feature that allows developers to create reusable UI elements that adapt to various design needs. Stay tuned!