Spectrum
Swatch
A swatch shows a small sample of a fill — such as a color, gradient, texture, or material — that is intended to be applied to an object.
Options#
Preview#
The preview shows the sample of the fill that the swatch represents. This property can be a color, gradient, texture, or material. The exact format this property takes will depend on implementation. Some examples of the format include color values, image, canvas, and gradient.
Size#
Swatches come in four different sizes: extra-small, small, medium, and large. The medium size is the default and most frequently used option. Use the other sizes sparingly; they should be used to create a hierarchy of importance within the page.
Shape#
Swatches can have a square or a rectangle shape (aspect ratio of 2:1). The square shape is the default and is used in swatch groups (e.g., a palette of colors).
Corner rounding#
By default, swatches have default rounding. There are 3 options for a swatch’s rounding: none, default rounding, and full rounding.
Default rounding and full rounding are usually used when a swatch is presented by itself near other components. A rounding of “none” is used in a swatch group to help minimize the Hermann grid illusion that happens at the intersections of white space in the group.
Selected#
A swatch can have a selected state to allow for selection. This is often used in a swatch group.
Disabled#
A swatch in a disabled state shows that the swatch exists, but is not available in that circumstance. This state can be used to maintain layout continuity and to communicate that a swatch may become available later. Disabled swatches should be used with caution.
Table of options#
From the design point of view, each component has a number of options. These options and their names are platform agnostic, and each implementation should adapt these to fit into their framework.
| Property | Values | Default value |
|---|---|---|
| preview | – This will vary depending on implementation. | – |
| size | extra-small / small / medium / large | medium |
| shape | square / rectangle | square |
| corner rounding | none / default / full | default |
| is selected | yes / no | no |
| is disabled | yes / no | no |
Behaviors#
Keyboard focus#
A swatch can be navigated using a keyboard. The keyboard focus state adds a blue ring to the swatch in focus.
Mixed value#
When a swatch represents multiple values that are not identical, the preview shows a gray-50 fill and a dash UI icon.
Usage guidelines#
Hide unavailable swatches when possible#
Even though swatches can have a disabled state, hiding unavailable swatches reduces visual clutter and eases cognitive load. Only show disabled swatches if hiding them would cause confusion to your users.
Keyboard interactions#
| Key | Interaction |
|---|---|
| Space or Enter | Triggers an action or selects the swatch when selection is enabled. The focus remains on the swatch, unless the swatch opens or closes the current container. In this case, the focus moves to the target or back to the caller. |
Changelog#
| Date | Number | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Apr 06, 2022 | 2.0.0 |
|
| Feb 25, 2022 | 1.1.0 |
|
| Apr 05, 2021 | 1.0.1 |
|
| Jan 12, 2021 | 1.0.0 |
|
Design checklist#
All interactive states
Includes all interactive states that are applicable (hover, down, focus, keyboard focus, disabled).
All color themes
Works properly across all four color themes (lightest, light, dark, darkest).
All platform scales
Includes a desktop scale (UWP, macOS, web desktop) and a mobile scale (iOS, Android, web mobile).
Accessible use of color
Color is not used as the only visual means of conveying information (WCAG 2.0 1.4.1).
Accessible contrast for text
Text has a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for small text and at least 3:1 for large text (WCAG 2.0 1.4.3).
Accessible contrast for UI components
Visual information required to identify components and states (except inactive components) has a contrast ratio of at least 3:1 (WCAG 2.1 1.4.11).
Content design
UI language and information design considerations have been incorporated into component design.
Defined options
Includes relevant options (variant, style, size, orientation, optional iconography, decorations, selection, error state, etc.)
Defined behaviors
Includes guidelines for keyboard focus, layout (wrapping, truncation, overflow), animation, interactions, etc.
Usage guidelines
Includes a list of dos and don'ts that highlight best practices and common mistakes.
Writing guidelines
Includes content standards or usage guidelines for how to write or format in-product content for the component.
Internationalization guidelines
Works properly across various locales and includes guidelines for bi-directionality (RTL).
Keyboard interactions
Follows WCAG 2.0 standards for keyboard accessibility guidelines and includes a description of the keyboard interactions.
Design tokens
All design attributes (color, typography, layout, animation, etc.) are available as design tokens.
UI kit
Includes a downloadable XD file that shows multiple options, states, color themes, and platform scales.
Generated UI kit
Includes a downloadable XD file, generated by code using design tokens defined in Spectrum DNA, and shows multiple options, states, color themes, and platform scales.
In Spectrum for Adobe XD plugin
Component is included in the Spectrum for Adobe XD plugin.
Slider