The Problem of Inconsistent Design in Mobile Apps
Let's face it: when in a project buttons are copy-pasted from old mockups and colors vary between screens by eye — that's a symptom of a missing UI kit. This situation leads to each new screen requiring manual alignment, style copying, and constant revisions. By our estimates, this eats up to 70% of a designer's time during the interface creation phase. Instead of standardized components, the team spends time polishing scattered artifacts. The solution is a single source of truth in Figma: a component library with Auto Layout and Variants, from which all screens are assembled. This approach reduces the time to create a new screen from a full day to 2–4 hours.
Compare: without a UI kit, color and spacing consistency relies on checklists and the designer's memory. With a UI kit, the designer simply drags a ready component and configures it via the properties panel. Time savings — up to 70% in the design phase, and spacing errors drop by 5 times. This can save up to 40% of the budget on mobile screen design.
Our projects confirm: implementing a UI kit reduces screen development time by 3–4 times and cuts the number of revisions during handoff to development. Below we break down the composition and process of creating an effective UI kit.
How to Build a UI Kit That Saves Hours of Development?
Step 1. Analysis and Token Formation
We start with an audit of the existing design: collecting all used colors, fonts, spacings, and shadows. We form design tokens — unified variables for color, typography, spacing, and border-radius. This is the foundation from which all components derive.
Step 2. Creating Atomic Components
We build basic elements: buttons, input fields, icons. Each component uses Auto Layout at all levels. This ensures components stretch to content and have no fixed sizes. For example, an input field with short and long helper text is one component, not two.
Step 3. Configuring Variants and Component Properties
We combine button variants (Primary, Secondary, Tertiary, Destructive) and states (Default, Hover, Pressed, Disabled, Loading) into a single master component using Figma Variants. The designer selects the desired combination via the Properties panel. A button with 4 types × 3 sizes × 5 states = 60 variants in one component.
Step 4. Documentation and Handoff
Each component is accompanied by documentation: when to use, anatomy, behavior rules. This accelerates onboarding of new designers and developers. Standard practice is described in Design system.
What Does a Mobile App UI Kit Include?
Base Layer — Design Tokens
Colors (primary, secondary, surface, error, on-surface, etc. per Material Design 3 or a custom system), typography (fonts, sizes, line-height, letter-spacing for each style), shadows, border-radius, spacing grid (4pt or 8pt base step). These tokens are the foundation of the entire system.
Atomic Components
- Buttons — Primary, Secondary, Tertiary, Destructive; sizes Large/Medium/Small; states Default/Hover/Pressed/Disabled/Loading
- Input fields — with label, placeholder, helper text, error state, success state; with icons left/right; single-line and multiline
- Navigation — Tab Bar (iOS style and Material Bottom Nav), Top App Bar with variants (with search, with action icons), Drawer
- Cards — basic card with multiple layout variants (horizontal, vertical, with media)
- Lists / List Items — with icon, with avatar, with trailing element, divider variants
- Badges and Tags — status, numeric, text
- Bottom Sheet / Modal — basic container with handle
- Toasts and Snackbars — success, error, warning, info
- Empty States — with illustration and CTA
- Loading States — skeleton screens for cards, lists, text
Main Components and Their States
| Component | States |
|---|---|
| Button | Default, Hover, Pressed, Disabled, Loading |
| Input field | Default, Focused, Error, Success, Disabled |
How We Build Components in Figma
Each component uses Auto Layout at all levels. This is critical: components must stretch to content, not have fixed sizes. An input field with short and long helper text is one component, not two.
Variants and Component Properties — for managing states and configurations without duplication. A button with 4 types × 3 sizes × 5 states = 60 variants in one master component. The designer selects the needed configuration via the Properties panel, not by copying components.
Naming — strict: ComponentName/Variant=Value, State=Value. This matters not only for order but also for Figma Variables binding and for developers reading the spec.
Dark theme — if planned in the project — is implemented via Figma Variables (Mode switching). One set of components, two color schemes. No file duplication.
Documentation Inside the Kit
Each component has a separate frame with a documentation layer: when to use, when not to use, anatomy. This is not "nice to have", it's functional: a new designer on the team or a developer opens the kit and understands the rules without a call.
How Does the UI Kit Sync with Code?
The Figma UI kit is the source of truth for code. For React Native — kit components correspond to components in StyleSheet or Styled Components / NativeWind. For Flutter — widgets in ThemeData and a custom widget library.
Tokens from Figma can be exported via Tokens Studio (plugin) to JSON and synced with the codebase via Style Dictionary. This eliminates manual synchronization of colors and typography between design and code.
Comparison: With and Without a UI Kit
| Criterion | Without UI Kit | With UI Kit |
|---|---|---|
| Time to create a screen | 1–2 days | 2–4 hours |
| Color consistency | Low | High |
| Time to onboard a new designer | Weeks | Days |
| Spacing errors | Frequent | Rare |
Full list of components
- Buttons of all types and sizes
- Input fields with validation
- Navigation elements
- Cards and lists
- Badges and tags
- Modals and snackbars
- Empty states and skeletons
Timeline and Cost
A basic UI kit for a mobile app (without a design token pipeline) — 3–5 working days. Depends on the number of components, complexity of variants, and presence of a dark theme.
Cost is calculated individually after scope assessment. We'll assess your project for free — contact us for a consultation. Order a UI kit development and speed up screen creation.
Our experience: over 10 years in mobile development, dozens of implemented UI kits for iOS, Android, and cross-platform. We guarantee your kit will be synced with the codebase and reduce the time to ship new screens.
Get a consultation and order a turnkey UI kit development.