Design Is Collaborative. So Why Do Handoffs Feel Like Fire Drills?
You’ve heard this before:
“We’ve wrapped the designs — just need to hand it off to dev.”
And then… everything falls apart.
Developers are confused about padding, designers forgot to annotate flows, the style guide lives in someone’s head, and suddenly the final build doesn’t match the vision. Sound familiar?
At DesignLabs, we’ve made it a priority to treat handoff as part of the design process — not an afterthought. Figma is at the center of this system.
Here’s how we use it to make handoffs smooth, consistent, and chaos-free.
Step 1: Design With Dev in Mind (From Day One)
We don’t design to hand off. We design with handoff already embedded.
That means:
Using a consistent 8px spacing system
Building with auto-layout and constraints
Naming layers and frames clearly
Avoiding trendy elements that can’t be implemented
Designing states (hover, active, disabled) — not just screens
This makes things 10x easier when it’s time to move to code.
Step 2: Create a Shared Style System Early
Before we even start a UI, we create (or import) a Design System inside Figma. This includes:
Text styles (e.g., H1, Body, Caption)
Color variables with naming logic (
primary/100,neutral/900, etc.)Component libraries: buttons, form fields, navs, cards
Spacing tokens and grid layouts
This means developers (and future designers) aren’t guessing. They’re working with a repeatable, predictable system.
Step 3: Annotate Inside the File — Not in a PDF
Forget sending docs back and forth.
We add micro annotations right inside Figma:
Dev notes (interaction, responsiveness, API triggers)
Copy guidelines
Conditional behavior (what happens on empty states, etc.)
Links to Notion docs if needed for deeper logic
Figma’s commenting + dev inspect mode make this feel natural — not cluttered.
Step 4: Use Pages for Structure
Our Figma files are organized into clearly labeled pages:
🧭 Overview — project notes, links, stakeholders
🎨 Style Guide — system foundations
🧱 Components — reusable building blocks
📐 Layouts — designed pages or views
🧪 Exploration — rough sketches, moodboard
✅ Handoff — final flows, cleaned, dev-ready
This structure tells any developer or collaborator exactly where to look — and what’s ready for handoff.
Step 5: Use Versioning + Prototypes
When a screen or flow is ready, we create:
✅ A prototype link (with click-throughs + transitions)
🕓 Version history (clearly named:
v1.0 Finaletc.)📎 Status label on frames (Exploring / Review / Final)
This avoids the “which file is final?” nightmare — and gives a source of truth.
Step 6: Communicate With Context
Even with a great Figma file, communication is key.
We pair handoffs with:
A short Loom walkthrough (5–10 mins max)
A Notion doc (if needed) with logic or asset links
A Slack thread pinned for dev Q&A
It’s not about over-documenting — it’s about reducing friction before it happens.
How Developers React
The biggest compliment we get from devs?
“I didn’t have to ask any follow-up questions.”
That’s the benchmark. Not just visual polish — but clarity, structure, and empathy for the people building your work.
Final Thought: The Best Handoff Feels Like a Handshake
Your devs aren’t a dumping ground. They’re your creative partners.
Designing with them in mind — using the right tools, the right structure, and the right mindset — makes your work stronger, more accurate, and more impactful.
Want to streamline your team’s handoff process?
We offer design systems, Figma setup workshops, and Notion integration kits — all built to bridge the gap between design and dev. Explore more in our Toolbox series.
