A design system is the shared vocabulary that keeps a product consistent as it grows: design tokens (colours, typography, spacing), a component library in Figma, and a code component library in the development framework. When a button style changes, it changes once in the system and propagates everywhere -- not across 40 individual screens. RaftLabs builds design systems for SaaS products, multi-product platforms, and design-at-scale teams. Token definition, Figma component library with variant coverage, React or React Native component library, documentation, and the contribution guidelines that make the system maintainable after handoff.
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2,000+ shipments yr 1RaftLabs builds design systems for SaaS products, multi-product platforms, and growing design teams. Each project covers design tokens (color, typography, spacing), a Figma component library with documented variants, and a React or React Native code component library. Most projects deliver in 8 to 14 weeks at a fixed cost. We also provide Storybook documentation and contribution guidelines so the system stays maintainable after handoff.
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Design inconsistency in a product is rarely the result of people making careless decisions. It's the result of people making independent decisions without a shared reference. When the button component isn't in a shared library, a developer recreates it from memory. When the colour tokens aren't defined, a designer picks the closest value they can recall. Multiply that across a team of four designers and eight developers over 18 months and the product has accumulated hundreds of micro-inconsistencies that users notice without being able to articulate -- and that make every new feature take longer to build because there's no foundation to build on.
A design system changes the economics of consistency. The investment is upfront -- defining the token layer, building the Figma component library, implementing the code component library, writing the documentation. After that investment, consistency becomes the default rather than the exception. A new button variant takes an hour in the system versus a week of reconciliation across the codebase. A brand colour update changes in one place. A new designer onboards by reading the documentation rather than by reverse-engineering existing screens.
Capabilities
Colour palette with semantic aliases (primary, surface, error, success) built on a two-tier token architecture: primitive tokens define the raw values (--color-red-500: #ef4444) and semantic tokens map purposes to primitives (--color-surface-danger: var(--color-red-500)) -- so changing "danger" from red to another colour requires changing one semantic token, not updating hundreds of hardcoded hex values across the codebase. Style Dictionary as the token definition format: tokens defined once in JSON, exported by the build pipeline to CSS custom properties, Tailwind v4 @theme block, React Native StyleSheet values, Figma Tokens Plugin format, and iOS/Android native colour definitions -- ensuring design and code are always reading from the same source. Typographic scale defined with named purpose roles (Display, Heading 1-4, Body Large, Body, Caption, Label) rather than arbitrary size values, each role specifying font-family, font-weight, font-size, line-height, and letter-spacing -- so a designer using "Heading 2" and a developer applying className="heading-2" are referencing identical computed styles. Spacing scale on a geometric or arithmetic progression (4px, 8px, 12px, 16px, 24px, 32px, 48px, 64px) with semantic space role names for common layout patterns (--space-component-padding, --space-section-gap) preventing the one-off gap: 14px that breaks the rhythm. Shadow scale with named elevation levels (resting, raised, floating, overlay) correlated to the component's position in the visual stack. Border radius scale with semantic aliases matching component types (card, button, input, pill, circle) rather than a loose set of pixel values that different developers apply inconsistently.
Master components for every reusable UI element built with Figma's component and variant system, structured so that a change to the master component propagates automatically to every instance across every screen in the file. Component inventory derived from your existing product audit: every distinct button style, input type, card layout, table configuration, modal pattern, and navigation element catalogued, rationalised to the canonical set, and rebuilt as a master component with complete variant coverage. Variant properties for each component covering the dimensions that actually exist in your product: a Button component with Size (Small/Medium/Large), Hierarchy (Primary/Secondary/Ghost/Destructive), State (Default/Hover/Pressed/Loading/Disabled), and Leading/Trailing Icon (None/Icon) variants -- the Figma variant matrix that covers every combination the product uses without inventing variants that don't exist. Auto Layout on every component for correct resizing behaviour: buttons that grow with their label width, inputs that stretch to fill the available column, cards that adapt to variable content height -- the auto-layout behaviour that makes component instances usable in screens without manual override. Interactive components using Figma's Prototype interactions for hover and pressed states: designers presenting in Prototype mode show realistic interactive behaviour without static comps for each state. Component documentation annotations as Figma Dev Mode notes on each component: usage guidance ("use Primary for the most important action per page"), spacing specs, token references, and accessibility requirements visible to developers in Dev Mode without switching to a separate spec document. Page organisation: a single Figma file with dedicated pages for Tokens, Components (by category), Patterns (compound component layouts), and an Index for navigation -- the structure that lets a designer find any component in under 30 seconds.
TypeScript React components matching the Figma library with prop interfaces that cover exactly the variant dimensions defined in the design, no more and no less -- preventing the "just extend it slightly for this one case" pattern that creates implementation drift between Figma and code. Component implementation standards: forwardRef on all interactive elements so consumers can pass refs for focus management; polymorphic as prop on button and anchor components so the element can render as a <button>, <a>, or any other element while retaining the same visual styling; controlled and uncontrolled mode support on form inputs; data-testid props on interactive elements for E2E testing integration. Styling using CSS modules or CSS-in-JS with design token CSS variables, never hardcoded values -- color: var(--color-primary) not color: #FF5A00 -- so a token change propagates to every component instance without touching component code. Storybook 7 with a story per component covering every variant and every interactive state: a developer or QA engineer can verify the Button's loading state or disabled appearance without finding a live screen that happens to be in that state. Component unit tests with React Testing Library: render tests for every variant combination, interaction tests for click handlers and keyboard events, and snapshot tests for visual regression detection between versions. npm package publication with a versioning strategy: semantic versioning with patch releases for bug fixes, minor for new components or non-breaking variant additions, major for breaking prop interface changes -- with a migration guide in the changelog for major versions. Peer dependency configuration requiring only React and a CSS custom property polyfill, not a CSS-in-JS runtime, so the library can be consumed without requiring a specific styling infrastructure in the host product.
Colour contrast validation against WCAG 2.1 AA for all semantic token combinations at the token definition stage -- before any component is built -- so contrast failures are fixed at the source rather than discovered during component review. Contrast ratio requirements: 4.5:1 for normal text and interactive elements, 3:1 for large text (18px+ regular or 14px+ bold) and UI components, tested for each foreground/background token pair that will be used together. Keyboard navigation implemented as a first-class requirement on every interactive component: Tab to focus, Enter/Space to activate, Escape to close modals and dropdowns, Arrow keys for radio groups, select menus, and carousels -- the keyboard interaction patterns defined by the ARIA Authoring Practices Guide implemented consistently rather than left to individual component developers. Focus visible ring using :focus-visible pseudo-class (not :focus) to show the focus ring only for keyboard navigation, not mouse click -- avoiding the visual noise that led previous generations of developers to outline: none and broke keyboard accessibility entirely. ARIA attributes implemented per the WAI-ARIA 1.2 specification for all composite components: role="dialog" with aria-modal="true" and focus trap on modals; role="combobox" with aria-expanded and aria-controls on custom select dropdowns; aria-live="polite" on notification regions; aria-describedby linking form inputs to their error messages. Screen reader testing conducted with NVDA + Chrome on Windows and VoiceOver + Safari on macOS before component handoff -- the two screen reader / browser combinations that surface the majority of real-world assistive technology issues. Accessibility documentation in Storybook: each component's accessibility section documenting the keyboard interactions, required ARIA context (e.g., "must be inside a <form> with a labelled landmark"), and known edge cases with workarounds.
Documentation site covering component usage, do/don't examples, design rationale, and prop reference -- the part of the design system that determines whether it gets adopted rather than abandoned. Storybook as the primary documentation platform for development teams: interactive component playground where developers explore every prop and variant in a browser, copy the import statement, and see the rendered output without reading source code; MDX stories for components that benefit from narrative explanation of when and how to use them alongside the interactive example. Zeroheight or Supernova as an alternative for teams that need documentation accessible to non-technical stakeholders (product managers, brand teams) who are comfortable in Figma but not in a developer-facing Storybook. Component documentation structure: Overview (what this component is for and when to use it), Variants (visual gallery of all variant combinations with labels), Usage guidelines with do/don't examples illustrated with actual component instances, Props table with type, default, and description for each prop, Accessibility notes (keyboard interactions, required ARIA context, screen reader behaviour), and Related components (what to use instead in edge cases this component doesn't cover). Design principles documentation: the 4-6 decisions behind the system's aesthetic and functional choices, written to guide future component designers and prevent "we should just add a special case here" conversations from bypassing the system's logic. Contribution process documented step-by-step: how to propose a new component (Figma exploration → review with design lead → component RFC → implementation → review → documentation → release), who approves what, and how to handle the case where a needed component doesn't exist in the library yet. Governance model for token changes: semantic token renames and palette changes require a major version bump and a migration guide; adding new tokens is a minor version; changing a value without renaming is a patch with a visual regression check.
Token sync workflow between Figma and the codebase that eliminates the manual step of updating CSS variables every time a designer changes a token in Figma -- the workflow that makes "it drifted" impossible rather than difficult to prevent. Figma Tokens Plugin + Style Dictionary pipeline: tokens defined in Figma Tokens Plugin sync to a JSON file in the Git repository via a GitHub Action on token change; Style Dictionary compiles the JSON to CSS variables, Tailwind config, and any other platform outputs automatically -- a designer changing a primary colour in Figma triggers a PR with the updated CSS variable that a developer reviews before merge. Versioning strategy for the component library on semantic versioning published to an npm private registry (GitHub Packages or a private npm registry): patch releases for bug fixes and accessibility improvements, minor releases for new components and non-breaking prop additions, major releases for breaking changes with a migration guide. Component library changelog maintained in CHANGELOG.md: every release entry describing what changed, whether it's a breaking change, and the exact import path changes required for major version upgrades. Visual regression testing with Chromatic (the Storybook companion service): every pull request runs a visual diff across all Storybook stories, flagging pixel-level visual changes for review -- preventing unintended visual regressions from token value changes or component refactors that look identical in code but produce different rendered output. Deprecation process for removing or replacing components: components marked as deprecated with a @deprecated JSDoc tag and a console.warn in development mode pointing to the replacement, retained for one major version before removal -- giving consuming teams time to migrate without a breaking change forcing immediate action.
Tell us how many products and designers are involved, what components already exist, and where the inconsistency hurts most. We'll scope the design system and give you a fixed cost.
UX/UI Design Services -- full design capability overview
Product Design Services -- product design that consumes the design system
UX Audit -- audit of existing products before design system consolidation
Mobile App Design -- mobile design that uses shared design tokens
Custom Software Development -- products built using the component library from the design system
Mobile App Development -- mobile apps that share tokens with web via the design system
Web Application Development -- web apps built against the component library
Frequently asked questions
A design system becomes worth the investment when the cost of inconsistency exceeds the cost of building and maintaining the system. The indicators: more than two designers working on the same product, more than one product sharing a brand, component decisions being made independently by different developers, or significant design debt accumulating faster than it can be cleared. For a single designer on a single product, a well-organised Figma file with shared styles and components is usually sufficient. For anything larger, a proper design system pays for itself in the first few months.
The component library should match your primary development framework. If your products are built in React, the component library is React. If you have both React and React Native products, the token layer is shared but the component libraries are separate codebases that reference the same tokens. Framework-agnostic design tokens (CSS variables, Style Dictionary output) work across any framework for styling without needing a shared component library. We assess your current and planned development stack during discovery before recommending the component library architecture.
A focused design system -- tokens, a core component library (20-30 components), Figma library, and basic documentation -- typically takes 8 to 12 weeks. A more complete system with 50+ components, a documentation site, contribution guidelines, accessibility compliance, and React Native components typically takes 12 to 20 weeks. Timeline depends on the number of components in scope and whether existing components need to be audited and standardised.
Design systems require ongoing maintenance -- new components as the product adds features, token updates when the brand evolves, documentation updates as usage patterns change. We include contribution guidelines and governance documentation in every handoff so the team has a clear process for making changes without introducing inconsistency. For teams that don't have a dedicated design system role, we offer retainer-based maintenance to handle component additions and breaking changes.
Work with us
We scope Design System Development in 30 minutes. You walk away with a clear cost, timeline, and approach. No commitment required.