Design tokens are a powerful tool for maintaining a consistent design system across different platforms and applications. They are key-value pairs that represent visual attributes such as colors, typography, spacing, and more. In this blog post, we will explore how to use design tokens in JavaScript Storybook to create a living style guide for your application.

What is Storybook?

Storybook is an open-source development tool for building UI components. It enables developers to create isolated and interactive components in a sandboxed environment. Storybook allows you to develop and showcase your UI components independently of your main application, making it easier to iterate and test different variations.

Setting Up Design Tokens in Storybook

To start using design tokens in Storybook, there are a few steps you need to follow:

1. Create a Design Tokens file: Design tokens can be stored in a dedicated file or as a JavaScript object. To keep things organized, it’s recommended to create a separate file for your design tokens, such as tokens.js.

2. Define your Design Tokens: In the design tokens file, define your tokens as constants or variables, assigning them the desired values. For example:

// tokens.js
export const colors = {
  primary: '#FF0000',
  secondary: '#00FF00',
};

export const fontSizes = {
  small: 12,
  medium: 16,
};

1. Import Design Tokens: In your component files, import the design tokens you have defined. For example:

import { colors, fontSizes } from './tokens';

Using Design Tokens in Storybook

Once you have set up your design tokens, you can start using them in Storybook to create consistent UI components.

Example 1: Using Design Tokens for Colors

import React from 'react';
import { colors } from './tokens';

const Button = () => (
  <button style=>
    Click Me
  </button>
);

export default Button;

In the above example, we use the colors design tokens to define the background color and text color of a button component. This ensures consistency and allows easy modification of colors throughout the application.

Example 2: Using Design Tokens for Typography

import React from 'react';
import { fontSizes } from './tokens';

const Heading = ({ level, children }) => {
  const Tag = `h${level}`;

  return <Tag style=>{children}</Tag>;
};

export default Heading;

In this example, we use the fontSizes design token to set the font size of the heading component dynamically based on the level prop passed to it.

Using design tokens in Storybook provides a centralized approach to managing and using your design system across different components. It allows you to make design changes in one place and reflects those changes automatically throughout your application.

Conclusion

Design tokens are a valuable tool for maintaining consistency and scalability in your design system. By integrating design tokens into your JavaScript Storybook workflow, you can establish a living style guide that streamlines the development process and promotes design best practices. Start leveraging design tokens in your Storybook projects today to create robust and easily maintainable UI components. #DesignTokens #JavaScriptStorybook