--- type: Domain Guide title: Design Source Vocabularies description: Freshness-bounded inventory of named vocabulary sources with source kind, vocabulary surface, version boundary, and review status. domain: design-terminology lifecycle: experimental --- # Design Source Vocabularies Primary role: named vocabulary source inventory. ## Repository Boundary This page inventories the named sources whose terms this domain records, with the fields needed to re-verify each reading later. It records which surfaces each source publishes, not what any surface should contain. It does not adjudicate a universal definition of `design system` or rank sources. ## Reusable Method 1. Name the source and its owner. 2. Assign the source kind using [Design Source Kinds](https://style.gallery/library/design-terminology/source-kinds/index.md). 3. Record the published vocabulary surfaces as verbatim layer names. 4. Record the version boundary and status, and stamp `reviewed_on` and `retrieved_on`. 5. Re-verify before any promotion beyond `experimental`, and record what changed. ## Recorded Sources | Source | Owner | Source kind | Vocabulary surface | Version boundary | Status | Reviewed on | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------- | -------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------- | ----------- | | [Material 3](https://m3.material.io/foundations) | Google | `design-system` | `foundations`, `components`, `styles`, `design tokens` | Living site; reviewed page set below | current | 2026-08-18 | | [Human Interface Guidelines](https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guidelines/) | Apple | `platform-guideline` | `components`, `materials`, `layout`, patterns | OS release cycle; reviewed page set | current | 2026-08-18 | | [Fluent 2](https://fluent2.microsoft.design/) | Microsoft | `design-system` | `foundations`, `components`, `patterns`, tokens | Living site; reviewed page set | current | 2026-08-18 | | [Carbon](https://carbondesignsystem.com/) | IBM | `design-system` | `foundations` including tokens, `components`, `patterns` | Living site; reviewed page set | current | 2026-08-18 | | [Polaris](https://polaris.shopify.com/) | Shopify | `design-system` | `foundations` including design tokens, `components`, `patterns`, `icons` | Living site; package versions for code | current | 2026-08-18 | | [Design Tokens Format](https://www.w3.org/community/reports/design-tokens/CG-FINAL-format-20251028/) | Design Tokens Community Group | `specification` | `token`, `group`, `alias` data model | Format Module 2025.10; Community Group report, not a W3C Recommendation | current | 2026-09-08 | | [Figma](https://help.figma.com/hc/en-us) | Figma | `design-tool` | `variables`, `modes`, `components` as tool constructs | Product and help-center version | current | 2026-08-18 | All entries cite official first-party URLs (`authority: official`); `retrieved_on` equals the corresponding `reviewed_on`. Entries retaining 2026-08-18 are prior bounded readings, not rechecked claims for the current session. ## Direct Sources For Current Term Records The [Term Cases](https://style.gallery/library/design-terminology/conflict-cases/index.md) use the narrower source sets below. Locators in the term table point to the exact document or section, not a general vendor home page. The first set retains its 2026-09-08 review; later readings do not backdate or refresh unrelated terms. | Named source | Source kind | Reviewed surface and version | Re-review trigger | | ------------ | ----------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------- | | Figma | `design-tool` | [Variables, collections, modes](https://help.figma.com/hc/en-us/articles/14506821864087-Overview-of-variables-collections-and-modes) and [components](https://help.figma.com/hc/en-us/articles/360038662654-Guide-to-components-in-Figma); dated help pages | Tool data model or cited help meaning changes | | DTCG | `specification` | [2025.10 Format](https://www.w3.org/community/reports/design-tokens/CG-FINAL-format-20251028/) and [Second Editors' Draft, 2022-06-14](https://www.designtokens.org/tr/second-editors-draft/format/) | A comparison changes version; retain the historical scope | | CSSWG | `web-platform` | [CSS Custom Properties Level 1](https://www.w3.org/TR/css-variables-1/#defining-variables) | The cited runtime-value definition changes | | Carbon | `design-system` | [What is Carbon](https://carbondesignsystem.com/all-about-carbon/what-is-carbon/) and [patterns overview](https://carbondesignsystem.com/patterns/overview/) | Component or pattern scope changes | | StyleGallery | `pattern-library` | Local [Layout hub](https://style.gallery/library/layout/index/index.md) and its repository contract | Layout ownership or pattern contract changes | The DTCG 2022 reading is historical evidence of a draft, not an implementation recommendation. A direct locator and a recorded reading establish provenance for the local summary; independent semantic approval remains separate. ### Sources Rechecked On 2026-09-21 | Named source | Source kind | Reviewed surface and version | Re-review trigger | | ------------------ | -------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------- | | DTCG | `specification` | [Format 2025.10](https://www.designtokens.org/tr/2025.10/format/); token, group, alias, and typography meanings | Format version or the selected comparison changes | | DTCG Resolver | `specification` | [Resolver 2025.10](https://www.designtokens.org/tr/2025.10/resolver/); modifiers and context selection | Resolver version or context-resolution contract changes | | Fluent 2 | `design-system` | [Design tokens](https://fluent2.microsoft.design/design-tokens) and [typography](https://fluent2.microsoft.design/typography); dated guidance | Token-layer or target-platform role meaning changes | | Carbon | `design-system` | [Color overview](https://carbondesignsystem.com/elements/color/overview/) and [usage](https://carbondesignsystem.com/elements/color/usage/); dated role/theme/layer guidance | Color role, theme, or contextual layer semantics change | | WHATWG HTML | `web-platform` | [Popover](https://html.spec.whatwg.org/multipage/popover.html) and [dialog](https://html.spec.whatwg.org/multipage/interactive-elements.html#the-dialog-element); Living Standard | Presentation or element semantics change | | WAI-ARIA | `specification` | [Dialog role in WAI-ARIA 1.2](https://www.w3.org/TR/wai-aria-1.2/#dialog) | Role version, meaning, or native representation changes | | Apple HIG | `platform-guideline` | [Popovers](https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guidelines/popovers) and [typography](https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guidelines/typography); dated platform guidance | Platform convention or text-style behavior changes | | Material 3 Compose | `design-system` | [Material 3 typography in Compose](https://developer.android.com/develop/ui/compose/designsystems/material3#typography); implementation surface of the system | Named style slots or system-to-implementation mapping changes | | CSSWG | `web-platform` | [Custom Properties Level 1](https://www.w3.org/TR/css-variables-1/) and [Fonts Level 4](https://www.w3.org/TR/css-fonts-4/#font-prop); runtime representations | Property or shorthand semantics change | For this set, `retrieved_on` and `reviewed_on` are 2026-09-21. Apple bodies were inspected through their official documentation JSON when the HTML reader returned a JavaScript shell. The previous Carbon `/guidelines/color/` locators were unavailable in the reader; the reviewed official pages use `/elements/color/`. No historical source record was silently relabeled current. DTCG modules remain Community Group reports, not W3C Recommendations. Source review here is by the author and does not satisfy independent semantic promotion. ## Freshness Policy Every recorded source carries: `source_url`, `source_kind`, a version boundary (specification version, product version, OS cycle, or dated reviewed page set), `status` in `current` / `deprecated` / `historical` / `unknown`, `reviewed_on`, and `retrieved_on`. Living sites without publishable versions record the reviewed page set and a re-review trigger. Terms with era history additionally record `introduced_in`, `deprecated_in`, `renamed_to`, and `historical_scope` in [Cross-System Term Cases](https://style.gallery/library/design-terminology/conflict-cases/index.md). ## Reading The Inventory - Four of the seven broad browse sources are design systems; HIG is a platform guideline, DTCG is a specification, Figma is a tool. Horizontal comparison is valid only within a kind, or through typed relations with boundaries. - `foundations` labels are near-equivalent as layer names, but each system decides what the layer contains. - The DTCG row records an interchange format, not a published token set. - Dates above are the reading bound; any later restructure is new evidence, not a back-fill. ## Opinionated Guidance - Cite surfaces verbatim; do not translate one source's layer names into another's inside a record. - Add a source only when its vocabulary surface is public, named, and officially linkable. - Record doc-surface and code-package vocabulary separately when they diverge. - Treat a renamed surface as new evidence with a new review date. ## Platform-Specific Guidance Platform-owned sources appear here only for terminology records; interaction-convention comparison routes to [Platform Guides](https://style.gallery/library/platform-guides/index/index.md). ## Unsupported Absolutes - A source's layer count is not a maturity measure. - Absence of a surface does not mean the source lacks that capability. - This inventory does not verify any link resolves today beyond its recorded review date. - Inclusion here is not an endorsement for product adoption. ## Verification Contract Before promotion or material edit, re-verify each cited surface still exists and still publishes the recorded layer names; update `status` and `reviewed_on`; confirm no entry quotes upstream definitional text. ## Source, License, And Attribution This page is locally authored. Every cited source remains the authority on its own vocabulary; links are usage evidence, and no upstream prose, tables, or code samples are reproduced. ## IA Navigation Parent: [Design Terminology](https://style.gallery/library/design-terminology/index/index.md). Next: [Design Concept Families](https://style.gallery/library/design-terminology/concept-families/index.md).