---
title: "Design tokens – one source of truth for UI | Sweet Lava"
description: "Design tokens store colours, type sizes and spacing as data shared by design and code. See how they keep products consistent across platforms."
url: https://sweetlava.eu/en/glossary/design-tokens/
lang: en
alternate_pl: https://sweetlava.eu/pl/slownik/design-tokens/
---

Design & branding 

# What is Design tokens?

Design tokens are a project's core values stored as data rather than graphics: colours, type sizes, spacing, shadows, animation timing – a single source of truth shared by designers and developers.

Instead of "the button green is roughly like in the mock-up", a token states precisely: `color.action.primary = #00624C`. The same tokens feed Figma mock-ups and application code, so changing a value in one place updates everything consistently.

Tokens are the lowest layer of a design system. A typical structure: base tokens (raw palette values), semantic tokens (e.g. `background.error`) and component tokens. Semantics make theming possible – e.g. dark mode – without redesigning screens.

**Why it matters:** tokens eliminate the drift in which, after a year, a product has fourteen shades of grey and nobody knows which one is "the right one".

## Related services

- [ Brand identity design & design systems → ](https://sweetlava.eu/en/services/branding-design-systems/)

## Related articles

Product design · 21 April 2026

## [ What is a design system and when does your company need one ](https://sweetlava.eu/en/blog/what-is-a-design-system/) 

A design system is not "a nice kit in Figma" but a shared source of truth for designers and developers. We explain what it consists of, what it costs and when it pays off.

## Related terms

- [Atomic design](https://sweetlava.eu/en/glossary/atomic-design/)
- [Design system](https://sweetlava.eu/en/glossary/design-system/)

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