Design handoff
A design handoff passes a design on for implementation. States, behaviour and outstanding decisions need to be clear.
Design handoff means passing an interface design to development. Besides its appearance, the team needs enough information to implement the intended interaction. An image file can be a starting point, but does not automatically contain all the behavioural rules.
Describe the state after an action
In a fictional portal, the design shows a Save button. Implementation still needs decisions about what appears during saving, what confirmed saving looks like and what happens if the result is uncertain. How existing user input is handled must also be clear.
Organise documentation around the workflow
Carbon’s documentation covers button labels, keyboard interaction and loading behaviour separately. This illustrates what information goes beyond a still image. At handoff, refer to the agreed component and version; record product-specific behaviour and open questions as well. The implemented interface still needs subsequent checking. An approved design is not the same as a tested program.
Sources
Related terms
- Component variantA component variant is a defined form of a shared building block. It differs from a temporary interaction state.
- Component libraryA component library brings together reusable interface elements. Behaviour, variants and the right version also matter when using them.
- UI componentA UI component is a reusable part of a user interface. Its purpose determines the presentation and interaction behaviour it needs.
- Design tokenA design token stores a named design decision. Multiple components can use it, allowing a value to be changed in a defined place.
Articles on this topic
Your project with ASES
Describe your project to us. We will get back to you with an initial assessment.