Designvokabulars

Designvokabulars, or design vocabularies, refers to a structured collection of terms, symbols, and conventions used by design teams to describe and communicate design elements, interactions, and experiences. It functions as a shared language that supports collaboration across disciplines such as graphic design, interaction design, and product design. By standardizing terminology and representations, designvokabulars help reduce misinterpretation during reviews, specifications, and handoffs.

A designvocabulary typically comprises several components: a terminology layer that defines names for concepts (for example color, typography, layout, component, state); a visual vocabulary that codifies colors, typography scales, spacing units, icons, and imagery; and an interaction and behavior vocabulary that describes patterns, affordances, transitions, and feedback signals. In addition, microcopy and accessibility considerations are often embedded as part of the vocabulary to ensure consistent user experience.

Designvokabulars are central to design systems and style guides. They support documentation, enable design-to-development handoffs using design tokens, and provide a reference for onboarding new team members. They can also assist in auditing consistency across products and in communicating design decisions to non-design stakeholders.

Development and maintenance of a design vocabulary typically involve contributions from designers, researchers, developers, and product owners. It is a living resource that evolves with new patterns, technologies, and accessibility requirements. While terminology should remain stable to preserve clarity, the vocabulary should be revisited periodically to reflect project scope and user needs.