Google Labs published the draft of Stitch's DESIGN.md as open source, and that changes how tools and AI interact with your design rules.
Can you imagine not having to explain every time why a color is the primary one, why a button has that priority, or how contrast should behave? DESIGN.md puts those decisions in a file you can export, import, and share between projects.
What is DESIGN.md and why it matters
DESIGN.md is a format to describe the rules of your design system: color roles, typographic hierarchy, spacing, components, and the intent behind each decision. In practice, that means Stitch and other AI agents don’t have to guess your intention: they know what each color or component is for.
What's the result? Interfaces that match your brand better without redoing the same rules for every project. Also, the format lets you validate choices against accessibility rules like WCAG, which reduces common contrast and usability mistakes.
What changes by being open-source
- Interoperability: now
DESIGN.mdcan be used outside Stitch, across tools and platforms. - Brand consistency: teams can share a single visual language and apply it automatically to new designs.
- Automatic accessibility: agents can validate against WCAG and flag issues before they reach end users.
- Collaboration and contribution: being public means the community can improve the spec and build integrations.
Google Labs also published a video where David East explains how this visual language works in practice. Seeing someone break the format into real examples helps a lot to understand it.
How you can try it today
- Watch the Google Labs video to see concrete examples and understand the workflow.
- Generate your own
DESIGN.mdfiles inside Stitch and try exporting and importing them in other projects. - Use the specification so AI agents check accessibility and brand consistency automatically.
- Contribute on GitHub if you want the format to evolve based on real design needs.
You don’t need to be an expert designer or engineer to take advantage: if you work with interfaces, this is a shortcut to preserve design knowledge and cut repetitive work.
Final thought
Opening DESIGN.md is a practical step toward an ecosystem where AI doesn’t guess, but acts based on explicit rules. For small teams, freelancers, and companies, that can mean fewer ad hoc decisions and more consistent, accessible visuals in their products.
Original source
https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/models-and-research/google-labs/stitch-design-md