design-to-component-translator

Design-to-Component Translator

Convert design specifications into pixel-perfect, production-ready React components.

Core Workflow

1. Analyze design specs: Extract spacing, colors, typography, dimensions
2. Map to tokens: Convert design values to design system tokens
3. Generate structure: Create semantic HTML structure
4. Apply styles: Implement Tailwind/CSS with exact measurements
5. Add states: Include hover, focus, active, disabled states
6. Handle responsive: Implement breakpoint-specific rules
7. Ensure accessibility: Add ARIA labels, keyboard navigation
8. Document variants: List all visual states and props

Design Spec Analysis

Extract from Figma/Design

Spacing & Layout:

• Padding: p-4 (16px), px-6 (24px horizontal)
• Margin: m-2 (8px), mt-4 (16px top)
• Gap: gap-3 (12px between flex items)
• Width/Height: w-64 (256px), h-10 (40px)

Typography:

• Font family: font-sans, font-mono
• Font size: text-sm (14px), text-base (16px), text-lg (18px)
• Font weight: font-normal (400), font-medium (500), font-semibold (600)
• Line height: leading-tight, leading-normal, leading-relaxed
• Letter spacing: tracking-tight, tracking-normal, tracking-wide

Colors:

• Background: bg-blue-500, bg-gray-100
• Text: text-gray-900, text-white
• Border: border-gray-300, border-blue-600
• Opacity: bg-opacity-50, text-opacity-75

Borders & Radius:

• Border width: border, border-2, border-t-4
• Border radius: rounded (4px), rounded-md (6px), rounded-lg (8px), rounded-full

Shadows:

• shadow-sm, shadow, shadow-md, shadow-lg, shadow-xl

Design Token Mapping

Create Token System

// tokens.ts
export const tokens = {
  colors: {
    primary: {
      50: "#eff6ff",
      100: "#dbeafe",
      500: "#3b82f6",
      600: "#2563eb",
      700: "#1d4ed8",
    },
    gray: {
      100: "#f3f4f6",
      300: "#d1d5db",
      500: "#6b7280",
      700: "#374151",
      900: "#111827",
    },
  },
  spacing: {
    xs: "0.25rem", // 4px
    sm: "0.5rem", // 8px
    md: "1rem", // 16px
    lg: "1.5rem", // 24px
    xl: "2rem", // 32px
  },
  fontSize: {
    xs: ["0.75rem", { lineHeight: "1rem" }],
    sm: ["0.875rem", { lineHeight: "1.25rem" }],
    base: ["1rem", { lineHeight: "1.5rem" }],
    lg: ["1.125rem", { lineHeight: "1.75rem" }],
    xl: ["1.25rem", { lineHeight: "1.75rem" }],
  },
  borderRadius: {
    sm: "0.25rem", // 4px
    md: "0.375rem", // 6px
    lg: "0.5rem", // 8px
    full: "9999px",
  },
  shadows: {
    sm: "0 1px 2px 0 rgb(0 0 0 / 0.05)",
    md: "0 4px 6px -1px rgb(0 0 0 / 0.1)",
    lg: "0 10px 15px -3px rgb(0 0 0 / 0.1)",
  },
};

Tailwind Config

// tailwind.config.js
module.exports = {
  theme: {
    extend: {
      colors: {
        primary: {
          50: "#eff6ff",
          100: "#dbeafe",
          500: "#3b82f6",
          600: "#2563eb",
          700: "#1d4ed8",
        },
      },
      spacing: {
        18: "4.5rem",
        88: "22rem",
      },
      fontSize: {
        "2xs": "0.625rem",
      },
    },
  },
};

Component Translation Examples

Button from Figma Spec

Figma Specs:

• Height: 40px
• Padding: 12px 24px
• Border radius: 6px
• Font: Inter Medium 14px
• Background: #3B82F6
• Text: #FFFFFF
• Hover: #2563EB
• Shadow: 0 1px 3px rgba(0,0,0,0.1)

Translated Component:

import { cn } from "@/lib/utils";

interface ButtonProps extends React.ButtonHTMLAttributes<HTMLButtonElement> {
  variant?: "primary" | "secondary";
  size?: "sm" | "md" | "lg";
}

export const Button = ({
  variant = "primary",
  size = "md",
  className,
  children,
  ...props
}: ButtonProps) => {
  return (
    <button
      className={cn(
        // Base styles
        "inline-flex items-center justify-center rounded-md font-medium",
        "transition-colors duration-200",
        "focus-visible:outline-none focus-visible:ring-2 focus-visible:ring-primary-500 focus-visible:ring-offset-2",
        "disabled:pointer-events-none disabled:opacity-50",
        // Variant: Primary (matches Figma)
        variant === "primary" && [
          "bg-primary-500 text-white shadow-sm",
          "hover:bg-primary-600",
          "active:bg-primary-700",
        ],
        // Size: Medium (40px height, 12px 24px padding)
        size === "md" && "h-10 px-6 text-sm",
        className
      )}
      {...props}
    >
      {children}
    </button>
  );
};

Card from Design Spec

Figma Specs:

• Padding: 24px
• Border radius: 12px
• Background: #FFFFFF
• Border: 1px solid #E5E7EB
• Shadow: 0 1px 3px rgba(0,0,0,0.1)
• Max width: 400px

Translated Component:

interface CardProps extends React.HTMLAttributes<HTMLDivElement> {
  elevated?: boolean;
}

export const Card = ({
  elevated = false,
  className,
  children,
  ...props
}: CardProps) => {
  return (
    <div
      className={cn(
        // Base from Figma
        "max-w-sm rounded-xl bg-white p-6",
        "border border-gray-200",
        // Conditional shadow
        elevated ? "shadow-lg" : "shadow-sm",
        // Hover state (not in Figma, but good UX)
        "transition-shadow duration-200 hover:shadow-md",
        className
      )}
      {...props}
    >
      {children}
    </div>
  );
};

Interaction States

Hover States

// Figma: Background changes from #3B82F6 to #2563EB on hover
className={cn(
  'bg-primary-500',
  'hover:bg-primary-600',
  'transition-colors duration-200'
)}

Focus States

// Accessible focus ring
className={cn(
  'focus:outline-none',
  'focus-visible:ring-2 focus-visible:ring-primary-500 focus-visible:ring-offset-2'
)}

Active/Pressed States

// Figma: Slightly darker on click
className={cn(
  'active:bg-primary-700',
  'active:scale-[0.98]', // Slight scale down
  'transition-all duration-100'
)}

Disabled States

// Figma: 50% opacity, no interactions
className={cn(
  'disabled:opacity-50',
  'disabled:cursor-not-allowed',
  'disabled:pointer-events-none'
)}

Responsive Design Translation

Breakpoint Mapping

// Figma artboards → Tailwind breakpoints
// Mobile (375px): default (no prefix)
// Tablet (768px): md:
// Desktop (1024px): lg:
// Wide (1280px): xl:

<div
  className={cn(
    // Mobile: Stack vertically, full width
    "flex flex-col gap-4 w-full",
    // Tablet: Side by side, 50% each
    "md:flex-row md:gap-6",
    // Desktop: Max width container
    "lg:max-w-6xl lg:mx-auto"
  )}
/>

Responsive Typography

// Figma mobile: 14px, desktop: 16px
<h1 className="text-sm md:text-base lg:text-lg font-semibold">
  Responsive Heading
</h1>

Responsive Spacing

// Figma mobile: 16px padding, desktop: 24px
<div className="p-4 md:p-6 lg:p-8">Content</div>

Design System Integration

Using shadcn/ui Patterns

// Leveraging shadcn's composable approach
import { cn } from "@/lib/utils";

const buttonVariants = cva(
  "inline-flex items-center justify-center rounded-md text-sm font-medium transition-colors focus-visible:outline-none focus-visible:ring-2 focus-visible:ring-ring focus-visible:ring-offset-2 disabled:opacity-50 disabled:pointer-events-none ring-offset-background",
  {
    variants: {
      variant: {
        default: "bg-primary text-primary-foreground hover:bg-primary/90",
        destructive:
          "bg-destructive text-destructive-foreground hover:bg-destructive/90",
        outline:
          "border border-input hover:bg-accent hover:text-accent-foreground",
        secondary:
          "bg-secondary text-secondary-foreground hover:bg-secondary/80",
        ghost: "hover:bg-accent hover:text-accent-foreground",
        link: "underline-offset-4 hover:underline text-primary",
      },
      size: {
        default: "h-10 py-2 px-4",
        sm: "h-9 px-3 rounded-md",
        lg: "h-11 px-8 rounded-md",
        icon: "h-10 w-10",
      },
    },
    defaultVariants: {
      variant: "default",
      size: "default",
    },
  }
);

Color System Translation

From Figma to CSS Variables

/* Figma colors → CSS variables */
:root {
  /* Primary from Figma #3B82F6 */
  --primary: 221 83% 60%;
  --primary-foreground: 0 0% 100%;

  /* Secondary from Figma #6B7280 */
  --secondary: 220 9% 46%;
  --secondary-foreground: 0 0% 100%;

  /* Backgrounds */
  --background: 0 0% 100%;
  --foreground: 222 47% 11%;

  /* Borders */
  --border: 220 13% 91%;
  --input: 220 13% 91%;
  --ring: 221 83% 60%;

  /* Radius from Figma */
  --radius: 0.5rem;
}

Using in Components

<div className="bg-background text-foreground border-border">
  <button className="bg-primary text-primary-foreground">Button</button>
</div>

Animation & Transitions

Micro-interactions from Figma

// Figma: Button scales slightly on hover
<button className={cn(
  'transition-all duration-200',
  'hover:scale-105',
  'active:scale-95'
)}>
  Hover me
</button>

// Figma: Card lifts on hover
<div className={cn(
  'transition-all duration-300',
  'hover:-translate-y-1 hover:shadow-lg'
)}>
  Card content
</div>

// Figma: Fade in on mount
<div className="animate-in fade-in duration-500">
  Fading content
</div>

Measurement Conversion

Figma Pixels → Tailwind Classes

Figma	Tailwind	Value
2px	0.5	0.125rem
4px	1	0.25rem
8px	2	0.5rem
12px	3	0.75rem
16px	4	1rem
20px	5	1.25rem
24px	6	1.5rem
32px	8	2rem
40px	10	2.5rem
48px	12	3rem

Custom Values

// Figma: 18px (not in default Tailwind)
<div className="w-[18px] h-[18px]">{/* or add to config */}</div>

Accessibility Mapping

From Visual Design to A11y

// Figma shows disabled state
<button
  disabled={isDisabled}
  aria-disabled={isDisabled}
  className={cn(
    isDisabled && 'opacity-50 cursor-not-allowed'
  )}
>
  Submit
</button>

// Figma shows error state
<input
  aria-invalid={hasError}
  aria-describedby={hasError ? 'error-message' : undefined}
  className={cn(
    hasError && 'border-red-500 focus:ring-red-500'
  )}
/>

Common Patterns

Form Input Translation

Figma Specs:

• Height: 44px
• Padding: 12px 16px
• Border: 1px #D1D5DB
• Border radius: 8px
• Focus border: 2px #3B82F6

<input
  className={cn(
    "h-11 w-full rounded-lg border border-gray-300 px-4",
    "text-base text-gray-900 placeholder:text-gray-500",
    "focus:border-primary-500 focus:ring-2 focus:ring-primary-500 focus:ring-offset-0",
    "disabled:cursor-not-allowed disabled:opacity-50"
  )}
/>

Icon Button Translation

Figma Specs:

• Size: 40x40px
• Icon: 20x20px centered
• Border radius: 8px
• Background hover: #F3F4F6

<button
  className={cn(
    "flex h-10 w-10 items-center justify-center rounded-lg",
    "text-gray-700 transition-colors",
    "hover:bg-gray-100",
    "focus-visible:ring-2 focus-visible:ring-primary-500"
  )}
>
  <Icon className="h-5 w-5" />
</button>

Best Practices

1. Measure twice: Verify all measurements match Figma exactly
2. Use design tokens: Map to tokens, not hardcoded values
3. All states: Include hover, focus, active, disabled, error
4. Responsive: Implement all breakpoints from design
5. Accessibility: Add ARIA where Figma shows states
6. Animations: Match transition timings to design
7. Dark mode: If designs exist, implement with class variants
8. Component variants: Create reusable variant props
9. Documentation: Note any deviations from design
10. Review: Get designer approval on implementation

Output Checklist

Every design-to-component translation should include:

• Exact spacing matching Figma measurements
• Typography scales and weights
• All color values from design system
• Border radius and shadows
• Hover state styling
• Focus state styling (accessible)
• Active/pressed state styling
• Disabled state styling
• Responsive breakpoint rules
• Design token mapping documented
• Accessibility attributes
• Component variants for states