Penpot deep dive: Color tokens vs asset colors
Color design tokens and asset colors are both ways you can store colors in Penpot for reuse. There are some key differences that might affect which you choose to use in your project.
Latest
Design tokens for designers: A practical guide
Design tokens bring together design and development teams with a single, unified language for expressing color, fonts, sizing, and more.
4 reasons why enterprises benefit from open-source design platforms
Whether it’s scaling across hundreds of designers or self-hosting and customizing an instance to meet strict requirements, open-source software gives enterprises the control they need to succeed - and one of the biggest advantages is flexibility.
The developer’s guide to design tokens and CSS variables
Design tokens are a platform-agnostic representation of your design decisions, while CSS variables provide a way to implement these decisions in the browser.
How to use component variants to scale your design system
This article explores how you can use component variants to simplify, scale, and future-proof your design system, helping you design more efficiently as your projects grow.
Penpot's new rendering system
One of the hardest challenges in building a design tool like Penpot is rendering performance. As designs grow in complexity, ensuring smooth performance becomes increasingly difficult.
CSS Grid vs. Flexbox: Choosing the right layout for you
Understanding what is Grid vs. Flexbox and how to use them can help you build cleaner layouts, write less code, and avoid frustrating design issues down the line.
What is Interaction Design? A Guide for UX Designers
In this article, we'll break down what makes interaction design different from other types of design, go over its key ideas, and share the tools and steps designers use to create great digital interactions.
Understanding the z-index: A beginner’s CSS guide
What's z-index? Learn how to manipulate the z-index, why it matters, and how Penpot makes it easier to manage stacking without touching a line of CSS.
Mastering the iterative design process: A complete guide
What does it take to make the next big idea come to life in a tangible way that truly helps people? The iterative design approach can be used for any field, but it’s most notable in software development and user interface design.
Tutorial: Creating and using component variants in Penpot
Component variants are a way to create different variations of a component. Does your component need different sizes? Colors? Levels of elevation? Variants make it easy to define these properties, and choose between them when you’re using a component in your designs.
Tutorial: 5 examples of component variants
Variants add an extra level of flexibility to your components, as well as providing better documentation and making designs even more developer-friendly.
Beginners
How to design a prototype in 7 steps (and why it’s now more than just clickable screens)
Prototypes keep design teams aligned, cutting rework and wasted effort. They act as a shared source of truth that unites designers, developers, and stakeholders—whether refining a complex flow or pitching a bold new idea.
Code
The top 5 questions people have about CSS answered by Penpot
Having a basic knowledge of CSS can really benefit your skills in web and UI design. Let’s start with these answers for the top CSS questions asked by beginners today.
Beginners
How to optimize SVG files: A complete guide for beginners
SVG files use mathematical formulas to create graphics, allowing infinite scaling without losing quality, and making them perfect for high-res displays and responsive design.
Beginners
How to build a memorable brand identity
When you think of iconic brands, a few instantly come to mind: the golden arches of McDonald's, the sleek simplicity of Apple. These companies have mastered the art of brand identity, crafting visual and emotional connections with consumers worldwide.
Design
Why use Design Tokens? 7 practical reasons designers and developers swear by
From reducing human error to creating more harmony between teams, let’s explore the benefits of design tokens and why you might want to consider using them in your next project.
Code
How to embed custom fonts with @font-face in CSS
Learn how to use @font-face to embed custom fonts in your website. Includes practical examples, performance tips, browser compatibility, and common mistakes to avoid.
UX
8 ways to use intuitive navigation to improve your website's UX
Discover 8 practical ways to design intuitive navigation that guides users effortlessly through your website or app. From clear labels to responsive layouts, these best practices will help you create smoother, more engaging user experiences — and avoid the pitfalls of confusing design.
Penpot
Penpot's AI whitepaper
This piece explains some of Penpot's relevant findings around AI and UI Design, what we’re building (and why) and what you should expect from us in the future.
Design
UX accessibility: 8 best practices for more inclusive design
By focusing on accessibility in UX design from the very first sketch of your app or site, you can get everyone thinking about the best way to serve every user. Find out how!
Code
How to create an intuitive design token system
In this guide, we’ll walk through creating a token system that works intuitively for both designers and developers.
Design
Typography hierarchy: How to improve readability
We read thousands of words on our mobile devices and computers daily, but not all of these words get the same attention. How do we decide which words to stop for?
Design
How to design a mobile app for free in 7 simple steps
In this comprehensive guide, we'll roll up our sleeves and get into exactly those steps, equipping you to confidently lay the groundwork for your first mobile app. Let's get building!