Custom Properties

Custom Properties: Custom Properties: Variables in CSS, Design Tokens: a Small Design System.

Updated November 10, 2026

1. Custom Properties: Variables in CSS (Apprentice): A custom property gives a value such as a brand color a name you choose, once, and every rule that reads it with var() follows when that one value changes.
2. Design Tokens: a Small Design System (Journeyman): Design tokens are a short list of custom properties for a site's colors, type sizes, spacing, corners and shadows, named by their job, so every component is built from the same decisions and one change restyles them all.