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• Create color, text, effect and layout grid styles

  Before you start

  Who can use this feature

  Supported on any team or plan.

  Anyone with can edit access to a file can create and edit styles.

  Anyone with can view access to a published file can use styles from that library in files where they can edit.

  Styles allow you to define a set of properties of an object, that can be reused across your designs.

  Create styles for:

  • Paints: fill, stroke, background color
  • Text: font family, size, line height, spacing
  • Effects: drop shadow, inner shadow, layer blur, background blur
  • Layout grids: row, column, grid

  Tip! You can give Styles both a name and a description. We recommend using the name and description to communicate how Styles should be used in your designs, versus simply using a description of the color. 

  To make finding and selecting styles easier, you can also organize your styles into folders. Learn more about naming, managing, and sharing styles →

  Colors (paints)

  Color styles can be applied to fills, strokes, backgrounds and text. You can even create color styles for images or gradients.

  To create a color style:

  1. Select the object you'd like to create a style for.
  2. In the properties panel, click the icon next to the property you would like to save.
  3. Click the icon in the Color styles panel to create a new style.
  4. Give the style a name and description and click Create style. Descriptions display when hovering over the style in the style picker.

  Note: When creating a style for a gradient, both the colors used and the gradient direction, or angle, will be saved to the style. 

  Text

  Styles can also be applied to text. This is great when you want to set different properties for different blocks of text.

  You can apply a Text style to an entire block of text, or apply it to just some of the text within a block. This is perfect for defining the style of your headers and body text; as well as determining how to style text within a paragraph like linked text.

  Note: Text alignment can't be set via a Text style. You will need to set the alignment of each text block individually.

  The process for creating text styles is the same as a color style:

  1. Select the text you’d like to create a style for.
  2. In the Text section of the properties panel, click the icon.
  3. Click the icon in the Text styles menu.
  4. Give the style a name and description and click Create style. Descriptions display when hovering over the style in the style picker.

  Effects

  You can also create styles for any effects, like drop shadows and blurs. This allows you to save those settings for future use.

  1. Select the object(s) you’d like to create a style for.
  2. If you haven’t already, add any effects you’d like to save to the object.
  3. In the Effects section of the Properties panel, click the icon.
  4. Click the icon in the Effect styles menu.
  5. Give the style a name and description and click Create style. Descriptions display when hovering over the style in the style picker.

  Shadow styles are represented in the Effects section of the right sidebar according to their direction. For example, drop shadows are displayed as above, right, below, and left. These icons can also vary between drop or inner shadows and their x, y values.

  Tip! You can create styles for objects with multiple effects applied and all effects will be included in the final style. For example: If you have multiple properties applied to an object (e.g. two drop shadow effects and an inner shadow), then all of those properties will be saved to the style.

  Layout grids

  You can also create styles for layout grids. This is useful if you’re wanting to replicate a specific format or structure across multiple designs.

  1. Create (or select) a frame in the canvas.
  2. In the Properties panel, add a layout grid to the frame.
  3. Update the layout grid to match the properties you’re wanting to save to a style.
  4. In the Layout grid section of the Properties panel, click the icon.
  5. Click the icon to create a new style.
  6. Give the style a name and description and click Create style. Descriptions display when hovering over the style in the style picker.

  Learn about managing, naming, and sharing styles →

• Apply Styles to layers and objects

  Before you start

  Who can use this feature

  Users on any plan

  Users with Edit access to a File can create and edit Styles.

  Users with View access to a File that was published can use Styles from that library in Files where they can Edit.

  Styles allow you to define a set of properties or attributes of an object. You can create Styles for Colors, Text, Effects, and Layout Grids and reuse them across your designs.

  Apply a Style to an object

  Apply any Styles from your Local Styles, or apply shared Styles published to your Team Library.

  1. Select the object(s) you'd like to apply a Style to.
  2. In the Properties panel, click the  Style icon next to the property you want to update.
  3. In the Styles menu, you will see your Local Styles and any Styles shared via the Team Library. Figma orders Styles in the Style panel accordingly:
     • Alphabetically by team name
     • Alphabetically by file name
     • Individual Styles appear in the order they were created. Learn about grouping and reordering Styles.
  4. Search and select the Style you want to use to apply it to the select object(s). The Style picker can be viewed as a list or grid.

  

  Tip! If you aren't able to access Styles from the properties panel, they may not be shared to your Team Library yet. Learn more about sharing Styles in our Managing and Sharing Styles article.

  Use the color picker

  You can also use the color picker to apply colors from Styles to objects. This is handy for situations when you want to:

  • Create a custom color that matches some of a Style's properties. For example: use a color from a style at only 50% opacity.
  • Apply a Color Style to an object or layer in a place that doesn’t support styles.

  The color picker allows you to switch between colors in the file (Document Colors) and from your Libraries. Click the to select a palette from an enabled library:

  

  Caution: When you select a style from the color picker, you are only setting the color, not applying a style.

  Switch between Styles

  You can change the Style that is applied to an object from the Properties panel in right sidebar.

  1. Select the object(s) you'd like to update.
  2. In the Properties panel, click on the Style next to the relevant property.
  3. Use the Style picker to search for and select the new Style.

  Detach a Style

  When you detach a style from an object, that object will keep its existing properties. You can then make changes to those properties, as desired.

  This is useful when using existing Styles as the basis for future Styles or iterations.

  To detach a Style from an object:

  1. Select the object(s) you'd like to remove the Style from.
  2. In the Properties panel, hover over the relevant style.
  3. Click the  Detach Style icon when it appears.
  4. You can now make any changes you want to the object, independent of the Style.

  Tip! You can also edit any Style that's applied to an object by selecting the Style and clicking the Edit icon in the Color Styles menu.

  Share Styles with Libraries

  When you enable a Library for a team or an individual file, Figma includes Styles from that Library in the Style picker.

  You can use any Styles you have can view access to. You can only edit the Style itself if you have can edit access to the original file.

• Manage and share styles

  Before you start

  Who can use this feature

  Supported on any team or plan.

  Anyone with can edit access to a file can create and edit styles.

  Anyone with can view access to a published file can use styles from that library in files they can edit.

  Styles allow you to define a set of properties or attributes of an object. You can create styles for colors, text, effects, and layout grids so you can reuse them across your designs.

  View styles

  Local styles are styles that exist in the current file. You can access local styles in the right sidebar when nothing is selected, or from the style picker.

  To view styles from other published files, you can view them in the style picker for a selected property. Learn more about enabling libraries in a file →

  Right sidebar

  Once you have created at least one style within a file, you can view them in the Local styles section of the right sidebar.

  You'll need to make sure you have nothing selected in the canvas first:

  • Click on an empty spot in the canvas
  • Press Esc to deselect your current selection

  View any local styles in the Design panel of the right sidebar. Figma groups styles by type:

  • Text
  • Color
  • Effect
  • Layout grid

  

  Style picker

  View local styles, and styles from other libraries, in the style picker.

  Click the styles icon next to the relevant property in the right sidebar. Figma will open the style picker which lets you to view any styles available for that property.

  The default order for styles in the style panel is:

  • Alphabetically by team name
  • Alphabetically by file name
  • Individual styles are in the same order as they appear in the right sidebar

  You can toggle between list and grid views

  Tip! If you are viewing a style from a different file, you can view the style in the original library file. Right-click on the style in the style picker and choose Go to style definition.

  

  Manage styles

  To make changes to a style, you will need to edit the style definition in its original file. It's not possible to make changes to the style from another file.

  Tip! Access the original style when you view the style in the right sidebar. Right-click the style and select Go to style definition to open the file and edit the style there.

  Group styles

  To make finding and selecting styles easier, you can organize your styles into groups. This can be done by using the / naming convention and by creating folders.

  Group by folder

  You can group styles by creating folders from the Design tab of the right sidebar. Folders will be reflected from the Local styles section of the right sidebar and in the style picker when you click for a given property.

  

  To create a folder:

  1. Select one or more styles:
     • Press Shift and click to select a range styles
     • Press ⌘ Command / Control and click to select multiple non-adjacent styles.
  2. Right-click the selected style(s) and click Add new folder.
  3. Name the new folder and press Return / Enter to save.

  Once created, the styles in the folder will be renamed according to their new heirarchy within the styles list. In the example below, the style Brand / Fuchsia was moved to the Blog folder within the Brand folder, which renamed the style to Brand / Blog / Fuchsia.

  

  To delete a folder and the styles in it, right-click the folder name and select Delete. You can also move all styles to another location to keep the styles and delete the folder.

  Group by name

  Grouping styles using the slash naming convention involves adding a prefix to your style names so Figma groups them under the same heading.

  In the example below, we use the slash naming convention to name and organize our styles:

  • Blog/color
  • Brand Style Guide/Color
  • Secondary/Color

  

  Tip! Styles appear in the styles panel in the order they appear in the Local styles list. To change the order your styles appear, you can update by clicking and dragging them in the Local styles list from the file in which they were created.

  Reorder and move styles

  When you view the Local styles section in the right sidebar, you can see every style in the current file, grouped by the style type: text, color, effect, and layout grids.

  By default, Figma will show styles in the order they were added. To make them easier to find and navigate, you can change the order or folder they appear.

  1. Select one or more styles:
     • Press and hold Shift and click to select a range styles.
     • Press and hold ⌘ Command / Control and click to select multiple non-adjacent styles.
  2. Drag the style to change the order or move them to a new folder.
  3. Release the mouse.
  4. Repeat for any other styles.

  Moving a style from one folder to another changes the name for the style to reflect its place in the hierarchy. For example, moving the color style Brand Style Guide / blue to the Blog folder will also change the style name to Blog / blue.

  

  Note: You can only adjust the order for local Styles, Figma sorts styles in the style picker differently.

  Edit styles

  You can edit local styles from the right sidebar and from the style picker.

  • Right sidebar: hover over the style, then click the adjust icon when it appears.
  • Style picker: right-click on the style and select Edit style from the options.

  

  View styles and their properties at the top of the Edit style panel.

  • View or update the Name of the style.
  • Add or update the style description, which displays when hovering over the style in the style picker.
  • View or make changes to any properties of the style.
  • Click on the icon to hide or show the property on any objects the style is applied to
  • Click the icon to remove the property from the style

  Any changes you make to the style here will update any objects in the file that use this style.

  Move styles

  Unlike components, you can easily move styles between files without losing the connections between them.

  You can't move the style from the original library file to another file. instead, you open the file you want to move it to and bring the style into that file.

  1. Open the file you want to move the style into.
  2. If you haven't already, you'll need to enable the library for that style in the file.
  3. Open the style picker from any relevant property. 
  4. Right-click on the style you want to move and select Move style definition into this file.

  Delete styles

  If you would like to remove one or more styles, you can do this directly from the panel.

  1. Select one or more styles:
     • Press and hold Shift and click to select a range styles.
     • Press and hold ⌘ Command / Control and click to select multiple non-adjacent styles.
  2. Select Delete style or Delete all from the options.
  3. Figma will remove the style and you will no longer be able to use it. Any objects using that style will keep their properties, but are detached from the style.

  

  Share styles

  To access your styles in other files and projects, you can publish them to a team library. You can publish styles on their own, or alongside any components.

  You can publish styles in a free Starter teams plan, but not components. You will need to be on the Professional or Figma Organization plan to publish components.

  Publish styles to a library

  1. Open the Assets panel in the left sidebar and click the Library icon. Or, use the keyboard shortcuts:
     • Mac: ⌥ Option + 3
     • Windows: Alt - 3
  2. In the Current file section, click Publish next to the file name.
  3. Add a description of the changes you've made to the file. Figma will include your description in the version history of the file.
  4. Click the icon next to Styles and components section to view a list of all styles and components.
  5. Click Publish to share them as a library.

  When you publish changes to a library, Figma will prompt anyone using this library to receive updates. This makes sure any layers that use these styles use the most recent version.

  Use styles from a library

  When you enable a library for a file, anyone with can edit access to that file can access those styles and components.

  • View any style from that library in the style picker.
  • View any styles from that library as a separate palette in the color picker.
  • Use any styles that are shared with you. Learn how to apply styles →
  • Edit styles from files you have can edit access to.