Tokens Are Not Variables
4 min read
Design tokens aren’t just color values — they’re contracts between design and code. Here’s how Rad UI unifies tokens, Figma variables, and CSS custom properties into one shared language.
Pranay Kothapalli
Maintainer at Rad UI
Hyderabad, India
Senior Frontend Developer specializing in UI components and design systems. With over 12 years of experience, Pranay has contributed to numerous open-source projects and loves to write about React, TypeScript, and modern web development. Currently working as a Fullstack Engineer at Sprinto.
Expertise
ReactTypeScriptUI ComponentsDesign SystemsWeb Accessibility
Articles by Pranay Kothapalli(16)
Your Design System Is Not a Product — It’s an API
4 min read
Design systems shouldn’t behave like static style guides. They should function like SDKs — programmable contracts that enforce consistency by design, not documentation.
How Radix UI Changed the Way We Think About Components
4 min read
A reflective deep dive into how Radix UI redefined component design in React — and what its limitations reveal about the future of headless UI libraries.
The Death of the UI Kit
3 min read
Why bloated UI kits like Material and Chakra are dying relics — and how composable, accessible primitives are reshaping modern frontends.
Why Composition Beats Configuration
4 min read
A deep dive into why prop-heavy React APIs age poorly — and how composition gives developers both constraint and creative freedom.