Figma launches Inclusive Layers: component library with baked-in accessibility rules

Design · 5 min read

Figma's Inclusive Layers lets teams attach accessibility rules, semantic roles, and required states directly to components and variants. Authors can mark a component as a "form-control" or "landmark" and declare required ARIA semantics, focus order, and minimum label relationships; the editor warns when a use violates those constraints.

The system integrates contrast checks, required keyboard behaviors, and a schema for generating accessibility metadata that can be exported as JSON to run-time frameworks or automated testing. Organizations can set enforcement levels per project — warnings for exploratory files, blocking errors for production-ready libraries — and track remediation across branches.

Design systems teams told SatisfiedUser the most practical gain is earlier detection: rather than waiting for QA or developers to flag issues, designers see violations while composing. Figma also partnered with several component library vendors to support metadata round-trips, meaning components carry semantic accessibility intent from design through dev and into testing.