A design file people can understand without a call.

Design handoff methodology

A design file people can understand without a call.

DFC Bridge helps record which page a design shows, which elements are the same across widths, and what buttons do. Developers do not have to guess.

Prepare a designCheck in Figma

Design mapConnections declared

Prepared widthshome1440 · 375

Actioncontact-modalcontact-button

home · 1440

home-hero

home · 375

contact-modal

One page at two prepared widths, with a connected modal.

What is DFC Bridge?

DFC Bridge — Design Frontend Contract — is an open methodology for preparing interface designs for implementation without hidden assumptions. In Figma, it connects the real design structure, stable names, and explicit decisions about responsive behavior, actions, data, and states.

You can apply the methodology without a plugin. DFC Bridge Assistant is the optional Figma companion for tagging and checking supported rules. It does not generate a finished application, and a source-design check does not replace testing the running interface.

DFC Bridge Assistant and review options · Official methodology on GitHub · MIT

One design — one clear structure

What changes with DFC Bridge

For example, the Contact button at both widths should open the same modal. Matching names help identify the same elements. Square brackets add their meaning: these are tags in layer names, not code.

01

Without DFC Bridge

desktop
  frame-42
    heading
    button

mobile-final-2
  group-91
    title

Names describe appearance, but not relationships or actions.

02

With DFC Bridge

home [page=home] [bp=1440] [view=default]
  hero [section=home-hero]
    hero-title
    contact-button [action=modal:contact-modal]
  contact-modal [modal=contact-modal]

home [page=home] [bp=375] [view=default]
  hero [section=home-hero]
    hero-title
    contact-button [action=modal:contact-modal]
  contact-modal [modal=contact-modal]

You can tell which designs belong to one page and which modal the button should open. Tags do not create layout or working behavior.

How to start

Three actions before handoff

1. 01

   Choose a design scope

   Start with one page or new section and the widths it needs.

2. 02

   Record missing decisions

   Keep the same names for the same elements. State where links lead and what buttons do.

3. 03

   Check understanding

   Ask a teammate to find those elements and their targets. Add any missing explanation to the file.

Choose the next step

Prepare a design

A short path for the first file.

Open quick start →

Review a file

The checklist, full review, and Figma plugin.

Open review →

Why DFC Bridge matters

One story about team questions and handoff decisions.

Read the visual introduction →

What the team gets

Fewer guesses, more decisions in the file.

Designer

Finds missing information before handoff.

Developer

Finds the exact layer, action, and state.

Team

Distinguishes agreed decisions from open questions.

Start with one page.

You do not need to migrate the archive. Take a real file, follow the quick start, and test the handoff without the author.

Open quick start