SmartHR Design System

Figma Design Systems: The SmartHR Design System

The SmartHR Design System is an open-source library that powers the SmartHR web application, a major HR management platform in Japan. This comprehensive design system offers essential foundations, UI components, and clear design principles. Consequently, the system helps designers and developers streamline their workflow and maintain a unified brand appearance. You find its core assets on GitHub, including the component library, documentation site, and the definition of its own Figma design systems resources.

Technology and Component Libraries

The SmartHR system primarily uses cutting-edge web technologies to deliver its front-end components.

• Core Frameworks: We build the reusable UI components using React, and the codebase relies heavily on TypeScript. Therefore, this emphasis on TypeScript ensures stability, predictability, and easier maintenance across large teams. The main component repository is actively maintained on GitHub under smarthr-ui.
• Documentation Site: The official documentation site is an excellent resource built with MDX and Astro. Furthermore, it provides detailed component usage guidelines, API references, and design principles. This documentation serves as the single source of truth for the entire design system.
• Outbound Resource: For instance, you can explore the Carbon Design System for an example of a similar large-scale, open-source Figma design system with strong enterprise backing.

Theming, Tokens, and Designer Assets

This system embraces modern practices like design tokens and provides professional resources for designers.

• Figma Design Systems: SmartHR makes a variety of assets available for designers. They use Figma to create and manage their UI Kit. In short, this resource aligns 1:1 with the coded React components, significantly simplifying the design-to-development handoff.
• Design Tokens: The SmartHR system utilizes Design Tokens—abstracted variables for colors, spacing, and typography—to manage its visual styles. Indeed, tokens enable rapid theming and ensure consistency across platforms and themes.
• Dark Mode Support: SmartHR does not officially document a dark mode. However, the foundational use of design tokens makes future dark theme implementation highly feasible and manageable. The team currently focuses on delivering a robust, accessible light-mode experience.