Workflow
Ship a Design Handoff That Developers Trust
Verify contrast, lock down a palette, and export clean specs so nothing is lost between design and code.
Estimated time: ~45 min
Tools involved: 4 Designers handing off to developers
- 1
Audit every text/background pair against WCAG AA so accessibility issues never reach code review.
Check small text at 4.5:1 and large text at 3:1 — flag anything below before handoff.
- 2
Lock the palette into a single source of truth with swatches developers can copy.
Include the hex values, not screenshots. Developers will ask for them anyway.
External tools
- 3
Compress any full-bleed images in the spec so the handoff package stays light.
Export assets as WebP/AVIF for the web and keep original PNGs for print.
- 4
Add a short README-style note inside the markdown spec that names the tokens.
Name color tokens semantically (--surface-1) rather than by value (#0B0F1A).
All tools in this workflow
| Tool | Role | Built-in / External |
|---|---|---|
| Color Contrast Checker | Audit every text/background pair against WCAG AA so accessibility issues never reach code review. | Built-in |
| Coolors | Lock the palette into a single source of truth with swatches developers can copy. | External |
| Squoosh | Compress any full-bleed images in the spec so the handoff package stays light. | External |
| Markdown ↔ HTML | Add a short README-style note inside the markdown spec that names the tokens. | Built-in |