"But with extended collections, Design System teams can support multiple brands/ products that require their own custom theme, while keeping variables in sync with the core system. How extended collections work: A Design System team publishes a core (parent) variable collection Designers across the company can extend the core collection with their own brand-specific themes (overriding only the values they need) The extended collections stay linked to the parent collection (and will inherit updates like new variables or token updates)"
"But there are still limits of extended collections: You cannot edit the variable's alias name, scope, or mode in extended collections Extended collections still require strong naming conventions and structure Product designers may struggle to understand which token is pulling from where unless documentation is clear They require more governance and a review process must be established for Design System members to ensure correct usage"
"Note: Extended collections are only available for full seat users on Enterprise plans. I know many Organization plans also need this feature, so it's disappointing it's only available to premium accounts (please don't shoot the messenger)."
Figma variables now include extended collections to better support multi-brand design systems by allowing brand-specific themes to override values while staying linked to a core parent collection. A Design System team publishes a parent variable collection, and designers can extend it with brand themes that override only required values. Extended collections inherit updates such as new variables or token changes from the parent. Limitations remain: alias names, scopes, and modes cannot be edited in extensions, and strong naming, documentation, governance, and review processes are necessary. Extended collections are limited to Enterprise full-seat users. Mode limits per plan have been increased.
Read at Medium
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]