System definitions

Definitions and examples of words and elements throughout eBay Evo.

C

Component

A reusable piece of code that serves as a specific user interface element or function.

Examples

Button
Checkbox
Card
Section title
Sheet
Text field

Three components stacked visually. The top is text input, middle is alert notice, and bottom is date picker.

E

Expressions

An expression is the application of the system to a particular subject/area.

Examples

Landing pages
Campaigns
Emails
Program materials

F

Foundations

Fundamental elements that provide the building blocks for creating consistent and cohesive user experiences.

Examples

Color
Spacing
Typography
Iconography

Related terms

Primitives
Atoms

Four color chips labeled G500, B500, R500, and Y400. Large graphic letters Aa are next to them, followed by 6 icon buttons with different icons placed in a row below them.

M

Microanimation

A short, subtle animation that emphasizes actions, transitions, and hierarchy.

Examples

Save button press
Add to cart transition
Generative AI replies

Video description: A 5-second video shows a collection grid of different micro interactions. The top left tile reads “Hang tight.” and then “Almost done.” while a dashed line in ebay colors animates below. To the right is a tile with 5 icons: home, profile, search, notification, and selling. A blue indicator hovers over each icon and the icons have a popping wiggle motion. The bottom left tile shows the filled AI icon centered that swipes to the left and gets smaller, while a chat bubble appears with a typing indicator and a message. To the right of that is a bright green illustrated tile with a handbag and watch in a box. There is a white button reading “Luxury”. The illustration has a pop motion and a black outline appears around it. The button turns black and in white reads a checkmark and “Luxury”. The last tile is a shopping cart icon in a white circle on a pink background. The icon has a popping motion and a small red circle with “1” appears on its upper right. The popping motion happens as the red circle changes from “1” to “2” to “3”.

Mode

A list of values for a variable within a specific context.

Examples

Light
Dark
English
German
Compact
Large

The background.secondary token points to core.neutral.200 in light mode and core.neutral.800 in dark mode. These core tokens point to #F7F7F7 and #191919, respectively.

P

Pattern

A reusable solution to a common user problem.

Examples

Collecting user data
Building data dashboards
Progressive disclosure
Feedback
Sharing
Bulk editing
Uploading files

A mobile view of a bulk edit pattern. The bulk edit controls are on the top above selected messages.

Property

A variable that can be passed to a component and used to customize its behavior or appearance.

Examples

isVisible?
Level
Size
Orientation

A figma UI graphic with a pink box around the “size” property. “Large” with a dropdown is on the right.

S

Style

Holds a combination of values that are expressed all at once.

Examples

scrim/image
ai/gradient/green/strong
image/avatar/2
viz/chart/fill/tertiary

Four color swatches in a row including gradients, patterns, and scrims.

T

Template

A pre-built layout or design that can be used to create user interfaces. They usually include content areas and surrounding elements like navigations headers, menus, and device-specific UI elements.

Examples

Dashboard
Landing page
Product feed
List-detail view

Token

A reusable variable representing a specific design decision.

Examples

color.core.blue.400
color.background.accent
spacing.page.grid.gutter
border.radius.small

A visual hierarchy graphic. From left to right Figma points to a pill shape with the token “foreground.success” in it. The pill points and branches out to 3 items. From top to bottom is IOS, Android, and {less}.

V

Value

A value is the data that is assigned to a component property.

Examples

Small
False
Attention
Stacked

A figma UI graphic with a pink box around the “large” value with a dropdown. The “Size” property is labeled on the left.

Variable

A specific implementation or representation of a single value.

Examples

colorCoreBlue400
--color-background-accent
spacingTitlePaddingHorizontal

A figma UI graphic highlighting the variable “primary”. Light mode is labeled color/core/neutral/1. Dark mode is labeled color/core/neutral/9.

Variant

An alternative presentation of a component with different properties and values.

Examples

Primary button
Secondary button
Small text field
Confirmation alert notice

Two columns of components with variants. The left column are button variants, while the right column are alert notice variants.

Component lifecycle

Experimental

Experimental components or features are still in their early stages and are not yet ready for widespread use. Experimental features are released to gather feedback on new ideas or concepts, and they may not be fully functional or stable.

Beta

Components or features in beta are nearing completion and are being released to a limited group of users for testing and feedback. Beta features are released to identify and fix any remaining bugs or usability issues before being officially released to the general public.

Stable

Stable components are fully functional and available for use in most, or all, circumstances.

Legacy

Legacy components are stable but discouraged due to availability of a newer or better alternative.

Deprecated

Deprecated components are marked for removal in next major version and should no longer be used.