Variable Design Standard (VDS) Change Log

Version history and release notes for Variable Design Standard (VDS).

Version 0.5.0 (Current)

Status: Draft
Date: January 27, 2026

Spec-wide cadence alignment, role naming update, and JSON-as-API framing.

Changes

Cadence and voice alignment

• Added “Scope + Failure if ignored” openers across scenarios, patterns, consumption, testing, adoption, and design docs.
• Tightened introduction pages to a spec voice and removed guide-only phrasing.
• Aligned navigation labels with page titles (UI Libraries).

JSON-as-API framing

• Declared JSON-as-API as the interface across contract, governance, patterns, consumption, and reference glossary.
• Reinforced file selection rule as the brand/mode switch instead of mapped layers.

Role naming and governance clarity

• Renamed Frontend Developer to Frontend Engineer across governance, tooling, adoption, and reference docs.
• Added or refined workflow and review checklists to reinforce governance gates.

Files Updated

Highlights across introduction, contract, governance, scenarios, patterns, consumption, testing, tooling, and adapters. See git history for full file list.

Future versions

See Versioning for versioning strategy and breaking change definitions.