Character Styles: Free Adobe XD Tutorial

Topics Covered in This Adobe XD Tutorial:

Creating & Editing Character Styles

Exercise Preview

Exercise Overview

Character styles are the backbone of consistent, scalable design systems. In this hands-on exercise, you'll master Adobe XD's character style functionality—a critical skill for maintaining typographic consistency across complex projects. You'll learn how to create, edit, and organize character styles that will save you hours of manual formatting while ensuring brand consistency across all your designs.

Creating Character Styles

We'll begin by setting up a working file and creating our first character styles. This workflow demonstrates how XD seamlessly integrates with other design tools while establishing the foundation for systematic typography management.

1. In Adobe XD, go to File > Open from Your Computer or hit Cmd–Shift–O (Mac) or CTRL–Shift–O (Windows).

2. Navigate into Desktop > Class Files > Adobe XD Class and double–click on iTastify Design Done.sketch to open it.

   NOTE: Notice that this is a Sketch file, and XD can open it directly! While XD's cross-platform compatibility continues to improve in 2026, the conversion may not be perfect—always inspect converted files closely to ensure text formatting, layer effects, and spacing translate accurately.

3. Zoom in on the iTastify Helps You Remember section (below the hand holding an iPhone).
4. There are 3 features, each with an icon and 2 lines of text. Try clicking on any of them to see the whole section is grouped.
5. CTRL–click (Mac) or Right–click (Windows) on any of them and choose Ungroup.
6. Click in an empty area of the artboard to deselect the text.
7. To open the Libraries panel, at the bottom left of the window click the icon.
8. Select the Tag Companions heading of the first feature.
9. In the Libraries panel, click the + button to the right of Character Styles to save it as a style.

10. Let's explore an alternative method for creating styles. CTRL–click (Mac) or Right–click (Windows) on the feature's description: You'll never mix up company again and choose Add Character Style to Assets.

    This context-menu approach is particularly efficient when working with existing designs, allowing you to quickly extract and systematize typography without interrupting your creative flow.

Editing Character Styles

Now that we've created our character styles, let's explore their most powerful feature: global editing. This capability transforms how designers manage typography at scale, enabling instant updates across entire projects.

1. Click in an empty area of the artboard to make sure nothing is selected.
2. In the Libraries panel, CTRL–click (Mac) or Right–click (Windows) on the Arial—21pt style and choose Edit.

3. Drag to choose any new color (it doesn't matter what you choose) and notice that the color changes on all 3 headings instantly!

   Character Styles function as intelligent design systems, similar to how we saw with Colors in the previous exercise. When you edit a style, XD automatically updates every instance of that exact text formatting throughout your entire project. Unlike traditional design tools that require manual style application, XD creates these connections automatically based on matching typography properties—think of it as smart search-and-replace for design. This approach dramatically reduces maintenance overhead in complex projects and ensures consistency that would be nearly impossible to maintain manually.

4. Click on an empty part of the artboard to close the style options.
5. In the Libraries panel, CTRL–click (Mac) or Right–click (Windows) on the Arial—20pt style and choose Edit.

6. Change the size from 20 to 18 and hit Return (Mac) or Enter (Windows) to apply the change.

   Notice how all three descriptions update simultaneously, demonstrating the power of systematic typography management. This level of control becomes invaluable when working with design systems, responsive layouts, or when client feedback requires typography adjustments across multiple screens or components.

7. Click on an empty part of the artboard to close the style options.

Naming Character Styles

Effective naming conventions are crucial for maintaining organized design systems, especially in collaborative environments. Generic auto-generated names like "Arial—21pt" become problematic as projects scale—semantic naming ensures your character styles remain meaningful and discoverable.

1. Make sure nothing is selected.

2. Double–click on the Arial—21pt style name, type in feature name and hit Return (Mac) or Enter (Windows) to apply the change.

   NOTE: You must be in List View to see and edit style names. This view also provides better organization when managing dozens of character styles in enterprise projects.

3. Double–click on the Arial—18pt style name, type in feature description and hit Return (Mac) or Enter (Windows).

   Pro tip: Establish consistent naming conventions early in your projects. Consider using hierarchical names like "heading-primary," "body-large," or "caption-emphasis" that reflect content hierarchy rather than visual properties. This approach creates more resilient design systems that adapt better to future changes.