Design.md
Design.md is a markdown file that captures design system rules, component usage, tokens, and UX standards for humans and AI agents building your product.
It gives models a single reference for “how we design here” so generated UI matches your system instead of generic defaults.
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What it means
Design.md is living documentation: typography, spacing, components, patterns, and do/don’t examples agents and developers read before shipping UI.
Why designers should care
Without Design.md (or equivalent), AI-generated screens drift from your system; with it, agents produce on-brand layouts, states, and copy faster with less rework.
Example
A product’s Design.md defines primary button usage and error states; the agent reads it before drafting a settings page and cites which rules it followed.
Common mistakes
- • Design.md that is outdated compared to Figma, so agents ship wrong components.
- • Only visual rules with no interaction, accessibility, or content voice guidance.
- • Burying Design.md where agents never load it at task start.