Create Styles for Colors, Text, Effects and Layout Grids

    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 of an object, that can be reused across your designs.

    Figma supports Styles for the following features:

    • Paints/Colors: 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 groups. Learn more about grouping and naming Styles in our Manage and share Styles article.

    Colors (paints)

    Color styles can be applied to Fills, Strokes, Background and Text. You can even create Color Styles for Images or Gradients.

    1. Select the object you'd like to create a style for.
    2. In the Properties Panel, click the Styles icon next to the property you would like to save.
    3. Click the
      icon in the Color Styles menu to create a new Style.
    4. Give the Style a name and click Create Style.

    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  (e.g. h1, h2, h3) and body text; as well as determining how to style text within a paragraph (e.g. links).

    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 Style icon
      .
    3. Click the
      icon in the Text Styles menu.
    4. Give the Text Style a name and click Create Style.

    Effects

    You can also create Styles for any Effect. 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(s).
    3. In the Effects section of the Properties Panel, click the Style icon
      .
    4. Click the
      icon in the Effect Styles menu.
    5. Give the Effects Style a name and click Create Style.

    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 Effect 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 Style icon
      .
    5. Click the
      icon to create a new Style.
    6. Give the Layout Grid Style a name and click Create Style.

    Related Videos

    • Styles in Figma

      Before you start

      Who can use this feature

      Users on Any Plan

      Users with Edit access can create Styles

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

      Use Styles to define the Color, Text and any Effects applied to objects; or to define the structure and appearance of Layout Grids.

      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.

      Whenever you make a change to a Style's properties - like updating the text color from red to blue - Figma will apply those changes to any objects using that Style.

      Like Components, Styles can be shared by publishing them to your Team Library. This allows you to easily establish and maintain consistent styles across your team projects.

      Use Styles

      Learn more about when to use Styles in our blog post: Best practices: components, styles, and shared libraries.

    • Manage and share Styles

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

      View Local Styles

      Local Styles are Styles you or a collaborator have created in the current file. To use Styles in other files, you can share them via a Team Library.

      Access Local Styles via the right-side panel, or from the Style picker.

      Properties Panel

      Once you have created at least one Style within a file, you can view a list of Local Styles in the right-side panel.

      You'll need to make sure you have nothing selected in the canvas first. Click on an empty spot in the canvas to remove your current selection.

      This allows you to see every style in the current file, grouped by the Style type:

      • Text Styles
      • Color Styles
      • Effect Styles
      • Layout Grid Styles

      Styles panel

      You can also view Styles from the Styles panel. This includes both Local Styles and Shared Styles from other libraries.

      You can only view Styles that are relevant to that specific property. You can view Styles for Fill, Stroke, Effects, Layout Grids, and Text.

      1. Click the Styles icon
        next to the relevant property.

      Manage Local Styles

      You can only make changes to local styles. You will need to edit style in the file it currently lives in.

      Note: If you try to edit a style from another file, you will see that you can't make changes to a Style. Click the Go to master style link to open the file and edit the style there.

      Group and name Styles

      Figma orders Styles in the Style panel accordingly:

      • Alphabetically by team name
      • Alphabetically by file name
      • Individual Styles are in the same order as they appear in the right-side panel

      To make finding and selecting styles easier, you can organize your styles into groups.

      Group Styles using the slash naming convention

      To group all of your text Color Styles together, you would name them Text/Purple, Text/Green, Text/Blue etc. Figma then displays those styles together, under a "Text" heading.

      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 them there!

      Reorder Local Styles

      When you view Local Styles in the right-hand panel, you can see every style in the current file, grouped by the Style type:

      • Text Styles
      • Color Styles
      • Effect Styles
      • Layout Grid Styles

      Styles appear in the order they were added. You can change the order they appear in, so that they are easier to navigate. This can only be done for Local Styles.

      Click and drag the Style to change the order:

      Update local styles

      You can only edit local styles from the Style Picker. Hover over the Style in the list and click the Edit icon when it appears.

      Or,  Right-Click on the Style in the list and choose Edit Style from the options:

      At the top of the  Edit Style panel you can view the style's Name, and description. Underneath the name and description, you can see a preview of the style, followed by its Properties.

       

      From this screen you can then:

      • Update the style Name
      • Add or update the Description of the style
      • Make any changes to the properties listed.
      • Click on the eye icon to hide or show the property on any objects the Style is applied to.
      • Click the "-" to remove the property from the Style.

      Any changes you make to the Style here will update any objects in the file that have this Style applied.

      Delete local styles

      If you would like to remove a Style, you can do this directly from the panel. Right-click on the style and select Delete Style from the options:

      Figma will remove the style from the Local Styles menu and can no longer be used. Any objects that use this style will retain their existing properties, but will be detached from the style.

      Share Styles

      To share Styles with your team or make them accessible from other files and projects, you can publish them to your Team Library.

      Publish Styles to a Library

      Styles are published along with any Components when you publish a file to the Team Library. Learn more in our Get Started with Team Library article.

      Tip! Publishing Styles is included in our Starter Teams plan for free. You will need to be a member of a paid Professional Team, or a Figma Organization, to publish Components.

      1. Click the Team Library icon within the Assets menu above the Layers Panel on the left to open the Team Library, or use the keyboard shortcuts:
        • macOS: Option-3
        • Windows: Alt + 3
      2. In the Current File section, click Publish next to the file you'd like to publish.
      3. Add a Description of the changes you've made to the file.
      4. Click the Styles and Components section to view a list of all Styles and Components:
      5. Click Publish to publish them to your Team Library.

      When you Publish changes to a Library, you'll be prompted to update the Team Library in any other files that use these Styles. This ensures any objects that use these Styles remain up to date.

      Use Styles from a Library

      When you enable a Library for a file, all editors in that file (that have permission) will have access to those Styles and Components.

      View any Styles from that Library in the Style panel. You can use any Styles that are shared with you. You will only be able to edit styles that live in files you have can edit access to.

      Learn more about using and applying Styles in our Apply Styles to layers and objects article

       

    • Apply Styles to layers and objects

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

      Apply a Style to an object

      Apply any Styles from your  Local Styles, or apply shared Styles that you've published to your Team Library.

      1. Select the object(s) you'd like to apply the Style to.
      2. In the Properties panel, click the Style icon (four dots) 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:
      4. Select the Style you want to use to apply it to the select object(s).

      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

      When you're using the  Color Picker, you will be able to switch between Document Colors and any Color Styles shared via your added Team Libraries, using the drop down field provided.

      Note: When you pick a color from this section, you are only setting the color, not applying a style.

      You may wish to use this to:

      • Create a custom color that matches only some of a Style's properties. For example, to create an object with the same color as a built-in style, but at 50% opacity.
      • Apply a Color Style to an object or layer that doesn't in a place that doesn’t allow styles. For example, setting the background color of a frame.

      Learn more in our Using the Color Picker article.

      Switch between Styles

      If you want to change the Style that is applied to an object, you can do this from the Style section in Properties panel.

      1. Select the object(s) you'd like to update.
      2. In the properties panel, click on the relevant Style.
      3. The Color Style menu will appear, which shows you both Local Styles and Styles shared via the Team Library. 
      4. Select the new Style from the options to apply the Style to any selected object(s).

      Detach an object from a Style

      If you no longer want an object to use a specific Style, you can detach the object from the Style. This will allow you to edit the object’s properties again.

      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 Team Library

      When a Library is enabled, you’ll see the Styles from that Team Library included in the Style picker. You can use any Styles that are shared with you, but you may not be able to edit them.