Figma launches 'Inclusive Tokens' to bring accessibility into design systems

Design · 5 min read

Figma's Inclusive Tokens extend the design token concept by allowing designers to tag tokens with accessibility intent—contrast targets, focus order hints, motion sensitivity flags, and recommended remap rules for high-contrast modes. Tokens can be versioned and scoped to projects, enabling design systems teams to roll out accessibility fixes without reworking entire components.

The feature integrates with Figma's design system analytics to highlight tokens causing common accessibility failures in prototyping, and it exports a machine-readable accessibility manifest that engineers can consume into CSS variables, iOS asset catalogs, or Android resources. Figma also released a set of recommended mappings for common front-end frameworks.

Early adopters at two large organizations reported faster handoffs and fewer post-launch remediations. Figma plans to add runtime hooks for screen readers and expand the token schema to include inclusive language suggestions and localization-sensitive typographic scales.