Symbols (Reusable Components)

Topics Covered in This Sketch Tutorial:

Creating & Editing Symbols, Customizing Content Inside a Symbol, Controlling the Layout & Resizing of Symbols, Renaming Symbols, Moving Symbols Between Pages

Exercise Preview

Exercise Overview

In previous exercises, you've discovered how styles enable you to reuse visual appearance across your designs. But what happens when you need to globally update actual content—text, graphics, and interactive elements? This is where symbols become indispensable. In this comprehensive exercise, you'll master how symbols allow you to maintain consistency while enabling flexible content management across your entire design system. Think of symbols as smart, reusable components that update everywhere when you modify the master—a game-changer for iterative design workflows.

Using Symbols to Update the Navigation Bar

Let's begin with a practical scenario: replacing identical navigation elements with a symbol so you can efficiently iterate on design changes across multiple artboards. This approach mirrors real-world design system practices used by leading design teams.

1. In Sketch, go to File > Open Local Document.

2. Navigate into Desktop > Class Files > Sketch Class > iTastify and double–click on iTastify Mobile Menus.sketch to open it.

   This file contains two potential designs for the iTastify site's mobile layout. The right artboard includes a comprehensive mockup of the mobile site's navigation menu. Before presenting these concepts to stakeholders, we'll refine several design elements using symbol-based workflows.

3. In the Sidebar, expand the Phone with Menu artboard if it isn't already open.
4. Hover over the mobile menu layer and an eye icon will appear. Click directly on that icon to temporarily hide the layer.

5. We'll now transform the black navbar into a reusable symbol, enabling synchronized updates across both artboards—a fundamental practice in scalable design systems.

   In the Sidebar, just below mobile menu select the nav layer group (which should be the nav on the right artboard).

6. In the Toolbar, click the Create Symbol button (or choose Layer > Create Symbol).

7. In the dialog that appears:

   • Name it nav
   • Set the menu below the name to No Layout. (We'll explore layout options shortly.)
   • Check on Send Symbol to "Symbols" Page. (This creates a centralized symbol library.)
   • Click Create.
8. In the Sidebar, notice the nav layer now displays a distinctive icon indicating it's a symbol instance.
9. We need to replace the nav on the left artboard with our newly created symbol. In the Sidebar, in the top Phone artboard Right–click (or Control–click) on the nav group (folder) and choose Replace With > nav.
10. Examine the left artboard—the nav appears identical because the symbol maintains the same positioning as the original elements.
11. To edit the symbol, double–click on the black navbar in either artboard (symbol edits are universal regardless of which instance you select).
12. Notice you're now on the Symbols page, editing the nav symbol within its dedicated artboard—this is your symbol's master template.
13. Click somewhere outside the artboard to deselect all elements.
14. Click on the black background rectangle to select it.
15. In the Inspector, click the Fills color box and choose white.
16. Hit Esc to close the color picker.

17. Click on the mobile menu icon on the artboard. Since it's a grouped element, all three lines should become selected.

    NOTE: This icon is commonly called the hamburger menu because its three horizontal lines resemble a burger patty sandwiched between buns—a universally recognized navigation pattern in mobile interfaces.

18. The hamburger menu currently feels too narrow for optimal touch targets. Drag the right-middle resize handle outward until it achieves better visual balance (you may need to zoom in to access the middle resize handle). Approximately 25 pixels wide provides good proportion, though trust your design judgment.
19. At the top left of the canvas, click the Back to Instance button.

20. Observe how both artboard navbars have updated simultaneously—this is the power of symbol-driven design systems in action.

Customizing Content Inside a Symbol

Now we'll explore one of Sketch's most powerful features: symbol overrides. While symbols maintain visual consistency, they also offer remarkable flexibility for customizing content, colors, and nested elements per instance.

1. In the Sidebar, reveal the mobile menu group by clicking the eye icon .

   We'll create two buttons with identical styling but different text content. Although symbols maintain visual consistency by default, Sketch provides sophisticated override capabilities for text, images, nested symbols, and styles. This flexibility enables component-based design systems that rival those built with modern development frameworks.

2. On the artboard, click on the Buy text to select it.
3. Hold Shift and click on the button's rounded rectangle background.
4. In the Sidebar, verify that both Buy and button bg elements are selected.
5. In the Toolbar, click the Create Symbol button .

6. In the dialog that appears:

   • Name it button
   • Set the menu below the name to No Layout.
   • Check on Send Symbol to "Symbols" Page.
   • Click Create.

7. With the Buy button still selected, examine the Inspector's Overrides section, where you'll find a Buy field.

   This field inherits its name from the symbol's current text content. We'll optimize this label momentarily to improve the developer handoff experience.

8. In the Buy field type Get App and hit Return to apply it.

   Notice the button text updates to Get App, but the spacing feels cramped. Let's address this through smart symbol layout configuration.

9. Let's refine the override label and spacing. Double–click on the Buy button's background (not the text) to edit the symbol.

   You should now be on the Symbols page, working with the master symbol template.

10. On the artboard, double–click on the Buy text repeatedly until it becomes editable, and change it to Label
11. Click in an empty area of the canvas to deselect the text.
12. At the top left of the artboard, click on button (the symbol's name) to select the entire symbol artboard.

13. In the Inspector, under Layout:

    • Click on Horizontal.
    • Below that, ensure the Left to Right button is selected as shown below:
      

      

14. At the top left of the canvas, click the Back to Instance button.
15. With the Get App button still selected, notice the Inspector now shows the override labeled as Label—much clearer for design handoffs. However, the text may have wrapped to multiple lines.
16. In the Inspector, to the right of Overrides click on Size Instance to fit content.
17. In the Inspector, change the label from Get App to Download and hit Return to apply it.
18. Observe how the button intelligently expands to maintain optimal padding—this responsive behavior mimics modern CSS flexbox layouts!
19. Let's insert another instance of our button symbol. In the Toolbar, click the Insert button and under Symbols choose This Document > button.
20. Your cursor now contains a symbol instance. Position it in the space below the Download button and click to place it (between Download and Text >).

21. Drag the new button into position as shown below:

    

22. While the Inspector provides one method for overriding text, there's a more intuitive approach. Double–click directly on the Label text on the artboard to edit it inline.
23. Type Tell a Friend and watch the button dynamically resize as you type—intelligent layout systems like this accelerate design iteration significantly.
24. Click outside the button to complete the text edit.
25. Let's increase the border radius for a more modern aesthetic. To edit the symbol, double–click on the button's background rectangle (alternatively, select the symbol and hit Return or click the Edit Source button in the Inspector).
26. Click in an empty area of the canvas to ensure nothing is selected.
27. Click on the burgundy rounded rectangle to select it.
28. In the Inspector, drag the Corners slider all the way to the right to create pill-shaped buttons.
29. At the top left of the canvas, click the Back to Instance button.

30. Both buttons now feature the updated rounded styling—demonstrating how symbol changes propagate instantly across all instances.

Manually Resizing a Symbol

While smart layouts handle most sizing scenarios, you'll occasionally need manual control over symbol dimensions. Here's how to override automatic sizing while maintaining text alignment and spacing.

What if we wanted the Download button to match the width of the Tell a Friend button below?

1. Select the Download button.
2. Drag the right side's middle resize handle outward to match the width of the button below.
3. Notice how the text remains perfectly centered—this happens because the text maintains center alignment relative to the button's bounds.

4. For left-aligned text with trailing space (common in form buttons), let's modify the symbol's text alignment.

   Double–click on the button's background rectangle to edit the symbol (alternatively, select the symbol and hit Return).

5. Click in an empty area of the canvas to deselect all elements.
6. Click on the Label text to select it.
7. In the Inspector set the text alignment to Left.

8. In the Inspector's Resizing options, under Pin to Edge click the left pin as shown below:

   

   NOTE: Pinning instructs Sketch to use fixed pixel offsets for positioning rather than percentage-based scaling—crucial for maintaining consistent spacing across different symbol sizes.

9. At the top left of the canvas, click the Back to Instance button.
10. The text now aligns left with trailing space on the right—useful for certain interface patterns like form submissions.

11. However, for this design, we prefer the button to fit its content precisely. Let's reset the Download button's width.

    Select the Download button.

12. In the Inspector, to the right of Overrides click on Size Instance to fit content.

More About Symbols

Let's expand our symbol library by creating a secondary button style with automatic layout capabilities—demonstrating how to build comprehensive component systems within Sketch.

1. Below the Tell a Friend button in the canvas, click on Text to select it.
2. Hold Shift and click on the arrow to the right of Text.
3. With both elements selected, in the Toolbar, click the Create Symbol button .

4. In the dialog that appears:

   • Pay attention! This time uncheck Send Symbol to "Symbols" Page.
   • Name it button/secondary (Using folder organization helps manage complex symbol libraries, similar to design system taxonomies.)
   • In the menu below the name choose Left to Right Layout.
   • Click Create.

   NOTE: Unlike our previous symbol, this artboard remains on the current page instead of moving to the Symbols page—useful for symbols you're actively iterating on.

5. Let's duplicate the button to test our layout system. In the canvas, hold Option and drag the Text > button downward, creating two buttons as shown below:

   

6. Select the top Text button.
7. In the Inspector, under Overrides, in the field under Text, type About and hit Return to apply.
8. On the artboard, notice that although About is longer than our initial text, Sketch automatically adjusts the arrow position while maintaining consistent spacing—this intelligent layout behavior is essential for scalable design systems.
9. Select the remaining Text button.
10. Double–click directly on the word Text, type Testimonials and click outside the button to finish.
11. Again, observe how the arrow repositions intelligently to accommodate the longer text.
12. Ensure you can see both the Phone with Menu artboard and the button/secondary artboard to its right.
13. On the small button/secondary artboard, the white text is invisible against the white background. Let's improve this by customizing the artboard's background color. Click on the artboard name: button/secondary to select the entire artboard.
14. In the Inspector on the right, check on Background color.
15. Click the color box and choose black.
16. Hit Esc to close the color picker.
17. Click in an empty part of the canvas to deselect the artboard.
18. Let's refine the button's arrow by reducing its size for better visual hierarchy. On the button/secondary artboard, click on the arrow to select it.

19. To scale it proportionally:

    • In macOS Big Sur & later: In the Toolbar, click the Tools button and then choose Scale. (You can also find this in Layer > Transform > Scale.)
    • Prior to macOS Big Sur:: In the Toolbar, click the Scale button . (You can also find this in Layer > Transform > Scale.)

20. In the Sidebar:

    • Set Scale to 70%. (The Width and Height values will automatically update to maintain proportions.)
    • Click the middle point to choose Scale from center .
    • Click Finish to apply the transformation.
21. To fine-tune the arrow's vertical alignment, press the Down Arrow key twice. Notice how both button instances on the mobile menu update in real-time—this immediate feedback is the advantage of keeping symbols on the current page during active design iteration.

22. The arrow appears too thin relative to the text. With it still selected, in the Inspector, under Borders set Width to 2 for better visual weight.

Renaming Symbols & Moving Symbols Between Pages

As your symbol library grows, proper organization becomes crucial. Let's explore Sketch's symbol management tools and establish a scalable naming convention for your design system.

1. At the top-left of the Toolbar, click on the Components button .

   

2. In the middle of the Toolbar, click on the Symbols tab.
3. Select the button symbol.
4. In the Inspector on the right, rename it to primary
5. Drag the primary symbol into the button group in the Sidebar on the left—this creates a organized folder structure that mirrors professional design system hierarchies.

6. At the top-left of the Toolbar, click on the Canvas button .

   

7. The button/secondary symbol currently resides on Page 1. For better organization, let's centralize all symbols on the dedicated Symbols page.

   In the Sidebar, Right–click (or Control–click) on the button/secondary symbol artboard name and choose Send to "Symbols" Page.

   NOTE: Alternative method: In the Sidebar, drag the symbol's artboard up onto the Symbols page in the pages list at the top.

8. Save and close the file.