Migrating the Component Library

Project Goal:
Transition a legacy Adobe XD component library to Figma while simplifying components, implementing design tokens, and establishing a foundation for a scalable design system.

Tools Used: 

  • Adobe XD (legacy)
  • Figma (primary)

Over time, the Adobe XD component library had become fragmented and difficult to maintain. Many components were inconsistent, overly complex, or duplicated, resulting in confusion and inefficiency for the design team.

The main goals of the project were to migrate all components to Figma for better collaboration, simplify the architecture using Atomic Design principles, implement a future-proof color token system ready for development integration to ensure the library remained streamlined and relevant.

The process

The migration began with a comprehensive audit of the existing Adobe XD library. Every component was evaluated, and identified redundancies. The central strategy was to apply Atomic Design principles, which meant breaking down every component into its smallest possible elements-such as buttons, icons, and input fields-and then reconstructing more complex components from these foundational building blocks.

This approach ensured that any change to a base element would automatically propagate to all related components, dramatically improving consistency and reducing maintenance effort.

Results and Impact

The migration to Figma and the focus on rebuilding based on the atomic system has resulted in a more efficient, scalable, and maintainable component library. The system is now positioned for seamless future integration with development and lays a strong foundation for a robust design system that can evolve with our platform.

Lessons Learned:

  • Atomic Adoption Takes Time: Conducted workshops to shift designers from “copy/paste” to systematic thinking
  • Token Naming is Critical: Aligned early on naming conventions to ensure future compatibility with development
  • Governance Needs Enforcement: Future Figma contributor permissions will need to be implemented to prevent library bloat