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