Mastering Design Tokens in NYC: A DOOR3 Workshop Recap

On February 6th, 2024, DOOR3 brought its Mastering Design Tokens workshop back to New York City for another installment in our series of hands-on UX training events. Hosted in the heart of one of the world’s most influential design and technology hubs, the event attracted a diverse group of UX designers, developers, and product managers eager to deepen their understanding of design tokenization.

Led by Jon Allen and Tom McClean, seasoned UX professionals with extensive experience in design systems and development workflows, the workshop provided a deep dive into the practical applications of design tokens, covering everything from foundational principles to advanced techniques for building a seamless design-to-development pipeline.

Breaking Down the Basics: The Role of Design Tokens

Design tokens are at the heart of modern, scalable design systems, helping bridge the gap between design and development while ensuring consistency across products and platforms. Implementing them effectively can be challenging for teams unfamiliar with their full potential, but the advantages of integrating them is undoubtedly worthwhile.

To kick off the workshop, Jon and Tom provided a clear, accessible introduction to design tokens—what they are, why they matter, and how they streamline design workflows. They discussed how tokens centralize core design properties, such as color, typography, spacing, and component styles, making them easily transferable across platforms.

The instructors emphasized the efficiency and cost-saving benefits of using design tokens, demonstrating how they can eliminate redundancy, reduce inconsistencies, and accelerate design handoffs between teams.

One of the highlights of the session was Tom McClean’s insight on the interactive nature of the workshop:

"Workshops like this allow us to truly adapt to the needs of the participants. The engagement was fantastic—attendees asked tough, real-world questions that sparked discussions and reshaped parts of the agenda. It’s always exciting to collaborate in a way that makes learning practical and immediately applicable."

Hands-On with the Tools: Tokens Studio & Figma Variables

A significant portion of the workshop focused on industry-standard tools that facilitate design tokenization. Attendees had the opportunity to work directly with Figma, the leading platform for managing and integrating design tokens into scalable systems.

Participants explored how to:

• Define, organize, and manage design tokens
• Sync tokens to ensure cross-platform consistency
• Export tokens for development, transforming them into JSON and platform-specific formats
• Utilize automation techniques to keep design updates in sync across multiple teams

The hands-on sessions allowed attendees to immediately apply what they learned, creating a real-world connection between design token theory and practice.

The workshop also fostered an interactive and collaborative environment, where participants shared challenges from their own teams, allowing the group to brainstorm solutions together.

Expert Advice On Common Challenges

Throughout the workshop, Jon and Tom highlighted common challenges teams face when adopting design tokens, sharing insights on how to avoid these pitfalls.

• Inconsistent Naming Conventions: Poor token organization can cause confusion. The workshop emphasized creating a structured taxonomy for tokens, ensuring clarity for both designers and developers.
• Token Overload: Without proper governance, teams can end up with too many unnecessary tokens, making them hard to manage. The instructors demonstrated best practices for token consolidation and hierarchy structuring.
• Bridging Design & Development Gaps: Many teams struggle with seamless handoffs between design and engineering. The session showcased how Tokens Studio and Figma Variables can integrate directly into development workflows.

Participants left with a strategic framework to implement design tokens successfully, helping them future-proof their design systems.

What’s Next? More Workshops & Learning Opportunities

Following the success of our NYC workshop, DOOR3 is committed to bringing more hands-on learning experiences to the UX community.

Upcoming Events:

Check out our upcoming workshops:

• London – Spring 2024 (Date TBA)
• San Francisco – Summer 2024 (Date TBA)

For those who couldn’t attend in NYC, we continue to expand our digital resources, including:

• A comprehensive blog series on building a design-to-development pipeline
• Case studies on successful design token implementations
• Webinars and virtual sessions for teams looking to refine their approach

These resources are designed to complement our workshops, offering ongoing education for those looking to deepen their understanding of design tokenization.

Final Thoughts: Building a Stronger UX Community

The Mastering Design Tokens workshop in New York City was more than just a training session—it was a step forward in creating a stronger, more connected UX community.

By sharing their expertise, Jon Allen and Tom McClean empowered attendees to implement more efficient design systems and drive meaningful collaboration between designers and developers.

As UX and product teams continue to face increasing complexity, mastering design tokens will be essential for those looking to stay ahead. DOOR3 remains committed to providing high-quality, practical learning experiences for professionals in the field.

For those ready to elevate their design systems, DOOR3’s workshops and online resources are the perfect place to start.