Most design systems die when the designer moves on. Here is how to build one that does not.
Every design system starts life as a Figma file. Most end life as an orphaned Figma file that engineers eventually stop consulting. The gap between the design artefact and the running code widens with every sprint until they bear no resemblance to each other.
Design systems fail at handoff because they are treated as designer deliverables rather than shared engineering assets. When a token is defined in Figma but not in code, engineers freestyle. When a component exists in Figma but has no Storybook story, engineers build their own. The duplication is not malicious — it is the path of least resistance.
Define your design tokens (colours, spacing, typography scale, border radii) in a single source of truth that both Figma and your codebase consume. We use a tokens.json file that Figma Tokens reads directly and that our CSS build transforms into custom properties. A colour change in the JSON file propagates to Figma and to production simultaneously.
Every component that appears in Figma must have a Storybook story before the sprint closes. The story is the API contract — it documents props, states, and accessibility requirements. When a designer says "add a disabled state" they must update the Figma component and add a story. The code follows the story, not a screenshot.
Run automated visual regression tests (Chromatic or Percy) on every pull request. A design system that is not tested for visual regressions is a design system that is slowly drifting from its spec.
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