WritingGuideCraft Notes · Part 2

Design tokens that scale past one designer

Marian Baicuianu

AI Systems Architect · Entrepreneur

May 30, 20261 min read

Tokens are contracts. Treat them like a public API.

Three layers, not five

Primitive tokens describe reality — a hex, a pixel. Semantic tokens describe intent — surface, foreground, muted. Component tokens describe usage — button-primary-bg. Anything beyond those three layers usually collapses under its own weight.

Naming survives the rebrand

Never name a token after a color. Name it after a role. 'brand-blue-600' will haunt you the first time marketing decides to go warm.

#design-systems #tokens #tailwind #craft

Marian Baicuianu

AI Systems Architect · Entrepreneur

Building intelligent systems for teams that ship. Writing at the intersection of AI, automation, and craft.

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