Variable Design Standard (VDS) Positioning

What Variable Design Standard (VDS) is, what it is not, and how it fits into the larger UDS system.

What Variable Design Standard (VDS) is

Variable Design Standard (VDS) is:

  • A governance layer on DTCG 2025.10 format
  • Rules for naming, validation, and versioning
  • Adapter patterns for tool integration
  • A standard for managing variables in version control

Variable Design Standard (VDS) provides:

  • Structure (DTCG-compliant JSON)
  • Governance (naming rules, change control)
  • Validation (what to check)
  • Adapters (how to convert tool outputs)
  • File selection rule (brand and mode selection by file list)

What Variable Design Standard (VDS) is NOT

Variable Design Standard (VDS) is NOT:

  • A new format (uses DTCG 2025.10)
  • A tool (works with existing tools)
  • A design system (governs variables, not design decisions)
  • A runtime library (use DTCG-compliant validators)
  • A build tool (use Style Dictionary or similar)

UDS System

Variable Design Standard is part of UDS (UI Design Standard), a comprehensive standard set for design-to-code governance.

UDS components:

  • Variable Design Standard (VDS): this spec
  • Integrity Design Standard (IDS): tooling layer (future)
  • Component Design Standard (future): component mapping
  • Pattern Design Standard (future): pattern mapping
  • Design-Dev Mapping (future): artifact relationships

Variable Design Standard is the first standard in UDS, focusing on variables.

Target audience

Designers

Designers use Variable Design Standard (VDS) to:

  • Create variables in Figma
  • Follow naming conventions
  • Export variables correctly
  • Understand governance rules

Developers

Developers use Variable Design Standard (VDS) to:

  • Consume variables in code
  • Validate variable changes
  • Generate CSS/TypeScript outputs
  • Understand variable structure

Design Engineers

Design Engineers use Variable Design Standard (VDS) to:

  • Maintain Variable Design Standard (VDS)
  • Review variable changes
  • Set up validation
  • Manage versioning
  • Bridge design and development

Problem it solves

Variable Design Standard (VDS) solves:

  1. Naming confusion: Everyone calls them something different
  2. No governance: Variables change without rules
  3. Tool lock-in: Variables tied to specific tools
  4. Handoff breaks: Design and code don’t align
  5. No validation: Invalid variables ship to production
  6. Versioning chaos: Breaking changes without notice

How it works

Variable Design Standard (VDS) works by:

  1. Defining structure (DTCG 2025.10 format)
  2. Adding governance (naming, validation, versioning)
  3. Providing adapters (tool integration)
  4. Running validation (CI checks)
  5. Supporting migration (from any format)

JSON-as-API

The JSON file set is the API surface. Paths and names are the contract. Brand and mode selection happens by file list, not by a mapped layer.

Standard posture

Variable Design Standard (VDS) is a spec and a governance layer.

  • The contract is the JSON in version control.
  • CI validates structure, naming, references, and modes.
  • Contract changes are reviewed before merge.

Success criteria

Variable Design Standard (VDS) succeeds when:

  • Teams adopt it without confusion
  • Variables are validated automatically
  • Design and code stay aligned
  • Migration is straightforward
  • Tools work together via DTCG format and adapters

Out of scope

  • UDS full system (separate project)
  • Runtime libraries (use existing tools)
  • UI tools (use existing tools)
  • Design decisions (govern structure, not values)
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