Adobe Spectrum vs Lightning Design System
Adobe Spectrum
spectrum.adobe.com
Lightning Design System
lightningdesignsystem.comSide by side
| Figure | Adobe Spectrum | Lightning Design System |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | — |
| Free plan | — | — |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 0 | 0 |
| Spec score · UI Kit Libraries | 7.9 (#8) | 6.8 (#26) |
| Accessibility | Spectrum’s color system is designed around visual perception, inclusive design, and accessibility. | The accessibility guidance recommends reviewing applications before release for WCAG 2.1 AA conformance. |
| Components | Spectrum component pages include interactive playgrounds for exploring live components and their props and attributes. | The development guide recommends Lightning base components first, then component blueprints, then custom components when needed. |
| Purpose | Spectrum is Adobe’s design system, described as a shared language that brings structure and connection across Adobe products. | SLDS 2 provides reusable design tools and development guidance for building consistent Salesforce interfaces. |
In their own words
Adobe Spectrum
Adobe Spectrum is Adobe’s design system, a shared foundation and language for creating experiences across Adobe products. It provides foundations, design tokens, patterns, components, and guidance intended to support consistent, flexible work. Component pages offer interactive playgrounds where users can explore live components and their properties; the playgrounds use component data connected to Spectrum repositories. Tokens capture reusable decisions about color, spacing, typography, motion, and sizing. Spectrum’s color guidance emphasizes accessibility, recommends meeting WCAG contrast minimums, and advises providing a label or icon so color is not the sole carrier of meaning. Typography guidance addresses consistent styles and behaviors, including text scaling with accessibility preferences on iOS and Android. Dedicated React and Web Components areas are available in beta; iOS, Android, and other platform areas are described as coming soon. Spectrum Hub provides foundational and implementation guidance, playgrounds, and contact options for feedback, bug reports, and inquiries. The September 2026 release describes the Hub as an initial release, with mobile documentation and unified experience guidance planned for later releases. Spectrum is listed as free and open source.
Lightning Design System
Lightning Design System has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.