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Figma Spacing & Grid Design
Grids and spacing systems help you save time, keep teams aligned, get rid of guesswork, and offer uniformity and consistency across designs. Our grid layouts offer various devices, including desktop, tablet, and mobile, with options such as twelve columns, six columns, five columns, four columns, three columns, two columns, and auto layout grids.
Figma Spacing & Grid Design
Spacing elements correctly is an important design decision. A spacing system creates rules for sizing and spacing UI elements.
Using a spacing system makes designs more
- Consistent: Elements are spaced predictably.
- Clear: Visual rhythm improves scalability.
- Professional: Precise alignment looks polished.
- Collaborative: Standards unify teamwork.
- Random: No method to sizing and spacing.
- Amateur: Lack of alignment looks sloppy.
- Confusing: Hard to scan when elements don't align.
- Disorganized: Team can't collaborate effectively.
Using a spacing system makes the login form align to a consistent grid. Now the positions of each element have the same spacing. This looks more organized and professional. For users, it looks neat and clean. It builds trust in the brand.
With standardized spacing rules, designers don't have to decide on spacing every time. The decisions are made upfront. This makes collaboration smooth between designers. Team members can work in parallel spacing in the Figma UI design system. Developers also benefit. The spacing rules are defined in the code.
Adding spacing variables in Figma
For adding spacing variables in the Figma UI design system, go to the top right corner there is a local variable, so click on Open Variables. After that click on Create a variable and select the number in the dropdown
In the "Create variable" window, name your spacing variable something like "spacing-2px". Input Category as "Spacing System". For the Value, choose the spacing amount like "2" for 2 pixels. Click "Create variable".
How do we use a spacing system?
For using spacing variables in components or any other designs. for example, first, select that component and if you want to add vertical spacing or add horizontal spacing. click on variable mood and choose which spacing you want to add
With this spacing system approach, solid elements like buttons and inputs get sized first. These elements have defined, consistent content. So they are used to establish the base spacing grid.
For example, set a button height as 24px based on your content spacing rules. Then space other elements off of that fixed 24px button height: Space above button: 24px, Space between buttons: 24p
What is a grid?
Spacing systems create rules for how much space goes between elements. Grids organize elements into layout columns and rows. Spacing systems define things like Space between buttons: 16px, Padding inside a card, 8px Grids arrange elements like Page content in 3 columns, Navigation in the left column, Images across 2 columns, and whole container in 12 columns. Print designers used grids to structure Text blocks in clean columns, Images aligned with text.
A column grid splits content into vertical columns with space between them. This space is called the gutter. Gutters should follow spacing rules. Like 24px between columns. This creates consistent system. A 12 column grid is popular. It allows many layout options 1 column for focused content, 2 columns for sidebar, 3 columns for thirds, 4 columns for quarters, 6 columns for many boxes And combinations like 8 + 4 columns.
Benefits of a column grid Organizes content linearly, Easy to align elements, Adapts to different screen sizes, Creates clean vertical system. Using your spacing system for gutters ties everything together. Columns + gutters made consistent. In summary, column grids with spaced gutters provide structure. The 12 column is flexible for divides. Apply your spacing system for visual harmony.
How do we apply grid in figma design system?
You can apply a layout grid to any frame. Remember that components are also frames, so you can apply them to components too.
You can find the layout grid settings in the right sidebar click on plus icon. you can also adjust the grid when you click on the column icon grid adjustment box is coming.
Also, you can add different types of grids in style and you can use them directly from the grid style list.
Column Grid: Divides layout into vertical columns, Allows different column width configurations, and Creates organized vertically.
Modular Grid: Uses consistent column and gutter sizes, Modules create rectangular content areas, Very orderly and structured.
Baseline Grid: Aligns text baselines to grid rows, Creates consistent line spacing for reading, Improves information hierarchy.
Composing Layouts: Use grids as guides, not forcing content, Combine grids intuitively where needed, Focus on natural flow and visual weight.
Adaptive Grids: Shift from columns to stacks on mobile, Content reflows flexibly across breakpoints, Maintains accessibility on different devices.
Responsive Grid: Columns resize and rearrange responsively, Gutters and margins adjust fluidly, Grid adapts layout for any viewport.
Figma Spacing & Grid Design
All components are available in tailwind css also, please check.
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