Zeplin for Designers: Design Handoff and Developer Collaboration

Zeplin transforms your static designs into living documentation for developers. Export screens from Figma, Sketch, or Adobe XD, and Zeplin automatically generates measurements, colors, text styles, and code snippets. Before Figma Dev Mode existed, Zeplin was the industry standard for design handoff. Today, it remains valuable for teams needing robust design system documentation, working across multiple design tools, or wanting a dedicated handoff workflow separate from their design environment. It bridges the communication gap between designers and developers, turning “what did you mean here?” conversations into self-service specs.

Key Specs

How Designers Use Zeplin

Design Handoff and Specifications

Export screens from your design tool to Zeplin with one click. Zeplin automatically generates pixel-accurate measurements, color values, font properties, and asset exports. Developers can inspect any element, see its properties in their preferred format (CSS, iOS, Android, React Native), and download production assets. The specs stay synchronized when you update designs, eliminating the “which version is final?” confusion that plagues design handoff.

Automatic Style Guide Generation

Zeplin scans your designs and extracts all colors, text styles, spacing values, and components into an organized styleguide. This happens automatically - you don’t manually document every color or text style. Designers can add descriptions, organize styles into sections, and link related components. The styleguide stays in sync as designs evolve, becoming a living design system reference that developers can trust. It’s more comprehensive than Figma Dev Mode’s variable documentation and works across all your design tools.

Design System Documentation

Build proper design system documentation by grouping screens into flows, adding markdown descriptions, and linking components across projects. Zeplin’s component documentation shows all instances where a component appears, making it easy to see usage patterns and ensure consistency. You can document design decisions, interaction notes, and accessibility requirements directly on screens. This creates context that code snippets alone can’t convey, helping developers understand not just what to build, but why.

Developer Collaboration and Feedback

Developers can comment directly on designs with questions or implementation notes. Designers receive notifications and can respond inline, keeping conversations attached to specific screens and elements. This eliminates scattered Slack threads and lost context. Zeplin also integrates with Jira, Trello, and Slack to connect design handoff with your existing development workflow. The comment history becomes valuable documentation for future reference when questions arise about design decisions.

Zeplin vs. Alternatives

Getting Started with Zeplin

1. Install the plugin for your design tool. Download the Zeplin plugin for Figma, Sketch, or Adobe XD from the Zeplin website. Install it following the tool-specific instructions. In Figma, you’ll find Zeplin in Plugins > Zeplin > Export Screens. The plugin handles all communication between your design tool and Zeplin’s web app.

2. Create your first project and export screens. Sign up for a free Zeplin account and create a project. Choose the platform (Web, iOS, Android, or macOS) since this determines code snippet formats and measurement units. Select screens or artboards in your design tool, run the Zeplin plugin, and export them. They’ll appear in Zeplin within seconds. The first export automatically generates a styleguide from your designs.

3. Invite developers and add documentation. Add team members to your project - developers can join for free as viewers. Add section descriptions, annotate screens with implementation notes, and organize your styleguide. Show developers how to inspect elements, download assets, and copy code snippets. Most developers are productive in Zeplin within 15 minutes since the interface is intuitive.

Zeplin in Your Design Workflow

Before design: Set up Zeplin projects that match your development structure - one per app, feature area, or design system. Establish naming conventions for screens and sections so developers can find what they need. Connect integrations with Jira or Trello if your team uses them for task tracking.

During design: Export to Zeplin regularly, not just at “final” handoff. This lets developers start exploring implementation details early and surface technical questions before designs are locked. Update exports when making significant changes so developers always see current specs. Use Zeplin comments to discuss implementation feasibility with developers while you’re still designing.

After handoff: Monitor Zeplin comments for developer questions and respond promptly. Update exports when design changes come from implementation feedback. Review the styleguide periodically to ensure it reflects your actual design system - remove unused colors or text styles that accumulated during exploration. Archive old projects or screens so developers aren’t confused by outdated specs.

Pairs well with: Figma or Sketch (design tool source), Abstract (design version control), Storybook (component development), Jira or Linear (task management), Slack (team communication). Zeplin sits between design and development tools, connecting both worlds.

Common Problems (and How to Fix Them)

Screens Don’t Update After Re-exporting

Zeplin sometimes doesn’t detect changes when you re-export screens with the same name. To fix this, delete the old screen version in Zeplin before exporting the updated version, or append a version number to the screen name (like “Homepage-v2”). You can also use Zeplin’s “Update” option in the plugin instead of creating a new export. If screens still won’t update, check that you’re exporting to the correct project - easy to accidentally export to a different project.

Colors in Zeplin Don’t Match Design Tool

Color profile differences between design tools and Zeplin can cause slight mismatches, especially with bright or saturated colors. Ensure your design tool uses sRGB color space (not Display P3). In Figma, check that color profiles are set to sRGB in settings. In Sketch, enable “Color Profile: sRGB IEC61966-2.1” in document settings. Also verify you’re viewing Zeplin in a browser with proper color management - Safari and Chrome handle this differently.

Code Snippets Use Wrong Units or Format

Zeplin generates code based on your project’s platform setting (Web, iOS, Android). If you picked “iOS” but need CSS for web, the snippets will use UIKit instead of CSS. You can’t change platform after creation, so create a new project with the correct platform. For web projects, ensure your base font size setting matches your actual CSS root font size so rem/em calculations are accurate. You can customize code snippet templates in project settings if the defaults don’t match your coding conventions.

Styleguide Missing Colors or Text Styles

Zeplin only extracts styles that appear in exported screens. If you have brand colors or text styles that aren’t used in your current exports, they won’t appear in the styleguide. Export a “brand guide” screen that shows all your design tokens explicitly. Alternatively, manually add colors and text styles using Zeplin’s styleguide editor. Also check that you’re using named styles in your design tool - hardcoded values (not linked to styles) won’t be extracted into the styleguide.

Team Members Can’t Access Projects

Check their role assignments in project settings - viewers can see everything but can’t export or edit. If someone needs to export screens, they need an editor seat (paid). Also verify they’re members of the correct workspace - Zeplin has organization-level and project-level permissions. If developers can’t access a project, ensure it’s not set to “private” in project settings. Send them a direct project invitation link rather than expecting them to find it in the workspace list.