Design Principle
Maintainable tokens need names, scope, defaults, and prohibited uses so humans and agents can share them.
Principle
Maintainable tokens need names, scope, defaults, and prohibited uses so humans and agents can share them.
Design action
Name color, spacing, radius, shadow, and typography as semantic tokens; generated pages should reuse tokens before inventing one-off styles.
Examples
Positive example: Design systems, themes, and multi-page products. Counterexample: Token names describe appearance only.
Apply when
Design systems, themes, and multi-page products. Agents need reusable visual rules.
Source notes
Source note: Synthesized from GOV.UK, Carbon, Polaris, Atlassian, Design.Systems, Design Systems Repo, and product-pattern libraries. GOV.UK Design System Patterns: https://design-system.service.gov.uk/patterns/ Carbon Patterns: https://carbondesignsystem.com/patterns/ Shopify Polaris: https://polaris-react.shopify.com/ Atlassian Design System: https://atlassian.design/ Design Systems Repo: https://designsystemsrepo.com/
Agent Directive
Name color, spacing, radius, shadow, and typography as semantic tokens; generated pages should reuse tokens before inventing one-off styles.