Figma adds Accessibility Tokens and Auto-Contrast to Design Systems

Design · 5 min read

Figma released a new accessibility token feature that lets teams define semantic color, motion, and typography tokens with built-in WCAG-derived contrast checks. Tokens can be promoted to system-level variables and inherit accessibility metadata, such as minimum contrast ratios and motion-sensitivity flags, so components can automatically switch to safer alternatives.

Alongside tokens, Figma introduced an auto-contrast engine that offers suggested replacements and live previews when designers choose color or motion values that fail accessibility rules. Designers can toggle an accessibility preview to see how components behave under different conditions, including simulated low vision, high-glare, and reduced-motion modes.

The change is targeted at design systems teams who maintain large component libraries, but Figma emphasized compatibility with existing token workflows by offering import/export tools and a policy layer for enterprise governance. Early adopters from finance and healthcare reported reduced time to resolve accessibility tickets, and Figma said it will expand the ruleset to cover localization and cognitive-load heuristics in the next release.