Does Figma Have a DSM?

Figma is a popular design tool used by many designers and teams to create user interfaces and collaborate on design projects. One common question that often arises is whether Figma has a Design System Manager (DSM) feature.

What is a Design System Manager?

A Design System Manager, or DSM, is a tool or feature that helps designers and teams manage their design systems. It acts as a centralized hub where all the components, styles, and guidelines of a design system are stored and can be easily accessed and shared.

Figma's DSM Feature

Figma does have its own version of the Design System Manager called "Figma Variants." This feature allows designers to create and manage reusable components in their design projects.

How to Use Figma Variants

In Figma, you can create variants of components by modifying their properties. These properties can include text styles, colors, gradients, borders, shadows, and more. By creating variants of components with different properties, you can quickly generate different instances of those components without having to recreate them from scratch each time.

Let's take a look at how you can use Figma Variants:

1. Create a component in your design project.
2. Select the component and open the "Properties" panel on the right side of the Figma interface.
3. Modify the properties of the component to create different variants. For example, change the text style or color.
4. Click on the "Create Variant" button in the "Properties" panel to save your variant.
5. Repeat these steps for each variant you want to create.

Benefits of Using Figma Variants

Using Figma Variants has several advantages:

• Consistency: By creating variants of components, you can ensure consistency across your design project. Any changes made to a variant will automatically update all instances of that variant.
• Efficiency: With Figma Variants, you can quickly generate different instances of a component without duplicating or recreating it.
• Collaboration: Figma Variants make it easy to share and collaborate on design systems with your team. Everyone can access and use the same set of variants.

Figma Variants vs. Traditional DSM Tools

Figma Variants provide some similar functionality to traditional Design System Managers, but they are not as comprehensive. Traditional DSM tools often offer additional features like documentation generation, version control, and more advanced management capabilities.

However, Figma Variants are a great starting point for teams who want to establish a basic design system without investing in a separate DSM tool. They offer an intuitive and accessible way to manage reusable components within the Figma platform itself.

In Conclusion

Figma does have its own version of a Design System Manager called Figma Variants. While not as extensive as traditional DSM tools, Figma Variants provide designers with an efficient way to create and manage reusable components within their design projects. This feature helps maintain consistency, improve efficiency, and facilitate collaboration among team members working on a design system.

If you're looking for a simple yet powerful tool to manage your design system within Figma itself, give Figma Variants a try!