Thomas Budiman’s article, “Creating Color Systems and Modes Using Figma Variables in 5 Steps,” offers a structured approach to building scalable and theme-ready color systems in Figma. Drawing from his work on the Nucleus design system starter kit, Budiman outlines a method that emphasizes clarity, flexibility, and maintainability.
The process begins with defining global color variables, which serve as the foundational palette. These are then mapped to semantic variables—such as ‘Foreground/Base’ or ‘Background/Muted’—to provide context-specific meanings. This hierarchical structure allows for the creation of component-specific variables, enabling designers to tailor colors within individual components while maintaining consistency. Budiman also addresses the implementation of light and dark modes, demonstrating how the same color palette can be adapted for different themes by reversing or adjusting color applications. He emphasizes the importance of checking color contrast to ensure accessibility and suggests documenting contrast ratios within the palette for easy reference. 
This guide is particularly beneficial for design teams aiming to implement Figma’s Variables feature effectively, ensuring a cohesive and adaptable design system that caters to various themes and accessibility standards.
