Designs systems can come with a complicated vocabulary, so we've defined some common terms found in Supernova (or related integrated tools).
A
Active exporter |
The enabled exporter for a particular action |
Asset |
Exportable components (eg. icons) |
Approval workflow |
Track documentation pages by status to ensure changes are reviewed |
Automatic update / Autoupdate |
Checks for changes from your design system files periodically (from Figma) |
B
Base value |
The core value assigned to a token, before any overrides (eg. theme values) are applied. |
Block |
Any content you add to your documentation. |
Brand |
Variations of a single design system, assigned to different brands. |
Build |
A single run of a specific exporter that points to a specific design system and version. |
C
Changes |
Documentation pages that have been edited but not yet published. |
Code preview |
Preview the output of running an exporter. |
Collection |
In Figma, collections and groups are used to organize variables. |
Component |
A collection of smaller aspects of design elements, used in UX and design patterns throughout your brand or product. |
Current draft |
The default version of your design system/documentation that is currently being edited or in progress. |
Custom exporter |
Exporters that are created from scratch or customized versions of existing exporters added to the workspace. |
Custom properties |
Properties that can be added to tokens and components. |
D
Default documentation exporter |
The default exporter for the documentation site. |
Default domain |
The URL for accessing for your documentation site. |
Data source (or design source) |
An integration that acts as a source for the design system (Figma file, Tokens Studio, Figma Variables Sync plugin). |
Design system |
A set of reusable components, styles, and tokens guided by standards that are used to build products or applications, and instruction for how they should be used in design. |
Design system data |
Anything you have added to your design system in Supernova (tokens, components, assets or fonts). |
Documentation |
Documentation contains all the information about a design system. |
Documentation editor |
The edit mode of the documentation site. |
Documentation exporter |
An exporter for the documentation site. |
Documentation preview |
A preview of your documentation site before it is published. |
Draft |
Edit multiple documentation pages simultaneously as drafts |
E
Event |
When a specified event happens inside the design system, a pipeline will run. |
Exporter |
A package that transforms design system data into production code. |
F
Figma component |
A component imported from Figma. |
Font source |
The source file of a font that is used in your design system. |
Fonts |
Groups of text characters in specific styles and sizes used in your design system. |
Frames |
A container for components or areas within your design in Figma. |
G
Guidelines |
Rules and examples of best practices in your design system (for example, Do’s and Don’ts). |
I
Import |
Design system content that is imported from a data source into Supernova. |
Import checklist |
A number of criteria that must be met in order for your content to be importable. |
Import summary |
A summary of the content that was imported, imported with issues, or failed to import. |
Import updates |
A button that triggers Supernova to import all changes that have been made and published in your data source files. |
Integration |
An external application or platform connected to Supernova. |
L
Last updated / Latest updates |
A timestamp or summary of the last updates for a certain element in your design system. |
Latest version |
The most recently published version of your design system / documentation. |
M
Mention |
Mention (@) a user in the documentation editor to notify them directly. |
Mode(s) |
In Figma, different contexts for variables that can be applied to designs. |
O
Override |
When a theme value is layered on top of a matching token’s values in the design system. |
P
Pipeline |
A code pipeline that automatically watches for events in the design system, runs a specified exporter, and delivers the resulting code to your chosen destination. |
Profile |
Your personal Supernova profile. |
Properties |
Add information to components or design tokens in your design system. |
Property type |
Type of value that a property can have. |
Property value |
Value of property applied to a token or component. |
R
Reference |
The link between a referenced token’s value and the value of the token it was created from. |
Role |
Users can be assigned a specific role that allows them certain permissions. |
S
Seat |
If a team member in your workspace has a role other than Viewer or Billing, they occupy a paid seat. |
Selective publishing |
Publish specific pages of your documentation only. |
Scope |
Which parts of your data sources are imported to your design system, and what they’re being used for. |
Selected brand |
The brand you would like to use tokens from to configure styling for your documentation. |
Styles |
In Figma, styles are a defined set of properties or attributes of an object. Styles are imported to Supernova as tokens. |
T
Theme |
A set of overrides for token values in a design system. |
Theme token |
A token contained within a theme. |
Theme value |
The value of an override for a single token as part of a theme. |
Token |
Style definitions in your design system that can be consumed by the codebases and projects using your design system, consisting of a name and value, and an optional description. |
V
Variables |
In Figma, reusable values that can be applied to design properties. |
Version |
A snapshot of your design system and documentation content at one moment. |
W
Workspace |
The home for your design systems and where your team will collaborate. |