Design tokens that survive a codebase.

What held

Tokens named for intent outlived tokens named for appearance. "Surface" and "ink" survived two years of redesigns; "grey-200" was dead within months because the moment the grey changed, the name lied. Semantic names absorb change. Literal names fight it.

What rotted

The spacing scale drifted the moment someone shipped a one-off margin under deadline. Not because the system was wrong, but because nothing stopped the shortcut. A token system without a lint rule to enforce it is a strong suggestion, and suggestions lose to deadlines.