Mastering Figma Component Variants: A Comprehensive Guide

Figma, a design platform, has made the design process more effective and efficient with its feature called component variants¹². This post aims to guide you through the process of creating and using component variants in Figma, enabling you to manage your design system efficiently and effectively, all while reducing the complexity of instances². Let's dive in!

What are Component Variants?

Component variants are combinations of components that are grouped as a single component set³. These variants simplify the design process as they allow designers to easily select or adjust component properties without having to change the entire component².

Benefits of Using Component Variants

Variants offer several advantages for Figma users:

• Reduced complexity: They reduce the complexity of instances and allow for easier modification of designs².
• Preservation of overrides: Variants allow for the preservation of overrides, providing more flexibility in design management².
• Efficient organization: They offer efficient ways of organizing components in the assets².

Creating Component Variants in Figma

Here's a step-by-step guide to creating component variants in Figma. This tutorial uses a menu button as an example⁴⁵:

1. Selecting a Component: Start by selecting the component you want to create a variant for⁴.

2. Creating a New Component Property: Create a new component property. This will allow you to define the different variations of your component⁴.

3. Selecting a Variant: Now, select a variant. This step will highlight a frame around the variant, indicating that it's been selected⁴.

4. Resizing the Component Variation Area: Resize the component variation area to fit your new variant⁴.

5. Adding New Variants: You can add new variants by clicking the '+' button in the variant panel⁴.

6. Renaming Variations: Rename your variants in a way that makes sense to you and your team⁴.

7. Moving Variations into Position: Move your variants into place. You can do this by clicking and dragging them around the variant panel⁴.

8. Modifying Variations: Make any necessary modifications to your variants⁴.

9. Changing the Variation of a Copied Component: Finally, if you've copied a component, you can change its variation in the instance panel⁴.

Remember, creating component variants requires a good understanding of creating a component. If you're new to this, consider checking out tutorials on creating components in Figma⁴.

Applying and Accessing Component Variants in Figma

Once you've created a series of buttons as component variants, you can apply the corresponding properties to the variants and access them directly on the Figma canvas⁶.

It's worth noting that component variants in Figma are a powerful design tool that allows for efficient, flexible, and comprehensive design processes. By understanding how to create and use them, you can enhance your design workflow and productivity.

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Footnotes

1. Create and use variants – Figma Learn - Help Center ↩

2. Creating and organizing Variants ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

3. Variants – Figma Learn - Help Center ↩

4. How to create component variants in Figma ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹

5. How to create components variants in Figma ↩

6. How to create variants on Figma ↩