A practical guide to naming design tokens covering the three-tier model (primitive, semantic, component), common naming patterns (CTI, semantic, component+state, scale-based), case conventions, namespacing strategies, and eight rules for keeping token naming consistent and scalable. Includes DTCG-spec JSON examples and guidance on choosing a convention based on team size and tooling.
Table of contents
What are design tokens, a quick recapThe three token tiersCommon naming patterns in the wildHandling variants, states, and modesCase conventionsNamespacingRules that keep token naming healthyChoosing your conventionSort: