The specialist opens the production graph: tokens, components, content, safe zones, export constraints, languages, rights and checks. An amended rule marks every potentially affected variant without silently rewriting it.
The factory separates authorised variation, exception requiring approval and blocked use. An asset without rights, date or territory remains N.F. and does not enter the export. The catalogue renders the rule before the effect.
Foundations and primitive tokens: colours, dimensions, font families, weights, radii, spacing, durations and curves — a value is named by its nature before it is assigned a use.
Semantic tokens: intent is expressed (text.primary, surface.emphasis, space.section) rather than medium, so a theme or context can change without rewriting components.
Aliases, references and resolution: a semantic token connects to a foundation; circular references are detected and the resolved value is displayed with its provenance.
Composite tokens: properties that travel together — typography, border, shadow, gradient, transition — stay documented rather than locked into an opaque style.
Grid, vertical rhythm and type scale: columns, gutters, margins, baseline, leading and hierarchy levels are tested against actual density, not an ideal specimen.
Component anatomy, slots and properties: mandatory structure, injected content, variants, sizes, densities and states are distinguished within a matrix of allowed combinations.
Interaction states: default, hover, visible focus, active, selected, loading, empty, error, disabled and success each keep a label or sign distinct from colour alone.
Responsive constraints and intrinsic layout: content-driven thresholds, reflow, min/max, stacking priorities, safe areas and truncation are tested against extremes before the median case.
Internationalisation and expansion: long copy, unbreakable words, reading direction, punctuation, number/date formats and editorial variants — no template relies on French copy happening to be the right length.
Design accessibility: text and component contrast, focus appearance, target size, text alternatives, reading order and keyboard equivalent, each criterion linked to its component.
Templates, regions and composition rules: locked regions, editable fields, conditional content, alignment rules, length limits, image ratios and channel variants stay separated.
Versioning, deprecation and migration: owner, draft/adopted/deprecated status, change log, dependents, replacement, migration window and regression control accompany every token.