Design Token Release Notes

Design token release notes communicate version updates to consuming teams, providing context beyond what changelogs offer. While changelogs list changes, release notes explain significance, highlight important updates, and guide adoption. Effective release notes help consumers understand whether, when, and how to upgrade.

What Are Design Token Release Notes

Design token release notes are documents accompanying version releases that describe changes, their rationale, and their impact on consumers. Release notes synthesize technical changes into narrative form, helping readers understand the release’s significance without parsing detailed changelogs.

Release notes complement rather than replace changelogs. Changelogs provide comprehensive change records; release notes provide curated highlights and guidance.

How Design Token Release Notes Work

Release note structure:

# Token Package v2.3.0 Release Notes

## Overview
This release introduces new status colors and improves color contrast across the primary palette.

## Highlights
- **New status color tokens** for consistent feedback states
- **Improved contrast ratios** meeting WCAG AA across all text/background pairs
- **Deprecated legacy color aliases** (see migration below)

## What's New

### Status Colors
New tokens for status indication:
- `color.status.info` - Informational messages
- `color.status.success` - Success states
- `color.status.warning` - Warning states
- `color.status.error` - Error states

### Contrast Improvements
Updated primary and secondary colors for better accessibility:
- Primary: 3.2:1 → 4.8:1 contrast
- Secondary: 2.9:1 → 4.6:1 contrast

## Deprecations
- `color.brand.*` tokens deprecated; use `color.primary.*` instead
- Migration deadline: v3.0.0 (estimated Q2 2024)

## Upgrade Guide
1. Update package: `npm update @company/tokens@2.3.0`
2. Run deprecation check: `npx token-lint --deprecated`
3. Plan migration from deprecated tokens

## Full Changelog
See CHANGELOG.md for complete change list.

Key Considerations

• Focus on consumer impact, not internal details
• Highlight breaking changes prominently
• Include upgrade instructions
• Link to detailed documentation
• Keep length manageable
• Use consistent structure across releases
• Publish alongside package releases
• Archive previous release notes for reference

Common Questions

What content should release notes include?

Release notes should answer consumer questions about the release.

Essential content:

• Version number and release date
• Summary of the release’s purpose
• Breaking changes (prominently)
• New features worth highlighting
• Deprecations and timelines
• Bug fixes affecting consumers
• Upgrade instructions

Optional valuable content:

• Design rationale for significant changes
• Performance impact notes
• Compatibility information
• Known issues
• Acknowledgments for contributors

Content to exclude:

• Internal refactoring details
• Build system changes
• Documentation typo fixes
• Changes invisible to consumers

How should release notes differ by version type?

Different version types warrant different release note depth.

Major versions (breaking changes):

# v3.0.0 - Major Release

## IMPORTANT: Breaking Changes
This release contains breaking changes. Read carefully before upgrading.

### Breaking Change 1: Removed tokens
[Detailed explanation and migration path]

### Breaking Change 2: Renamed tokens
[Detailed explanation and migration path]

## Migration Guide
[Comprehensive step-by-step instructions]

## New Features
[Highlights of new capabilities]

Minor versions (new features):

# v2.3.0 - Feature Release

## New Features
- Token A: Description and usage
- Token B: Description and usage

## Improvements
- Enhancement 1
- Enhancement 2

## Upgrade
Standard upgrade: `npm update @company/tokens`

Patch versions (fixes):

# v2.3.1 - Patch Release

## Bug Fixes
- Fixed color.primary value from #3B82F5 to #3B82F6
- Corrected shadow.md blur value

## Upgrade
`npm update @company/tokens`

How should release notes be distributed?

Distribution ensures release notes reach all consumers.

Package README updates: Latest release notes or link in package README visible on npm/registry page.

Documentation site: Dedicated releases section with all release notes archived.

Communication channels:

• Slack announcement to design system channel
• Email to subscribers
• Team meeting mentions for significant releases

Automated notifications:

# GitHub Action to announce release
- name: Notify Slack
  uses: slackapi/slack-github-action@v1
  with:
    payload: |
      {
        "text": "Token Package v${{ github.ref_name }} released!",
        "blocks": [
          {
            "type": "section",
            "text": {
              "type": "mrkdwn",
              "text": "See release notes: ${{ github.server_url }}/.../releases"
            }
          }
        ]
      }

Summary

Design token release notes communicate version updates in consumer-focused narrative form, complementing detailed changelogs. Effective notes highlight significant changes, explain rationale, and provide upgrade guidance. Content depth should match version significance, with major versions requiring comprehensive migration documentation. Distribution through multiple channels ensures release information reaches all consuming teams.