Introduction

The Salesforce Diagrams Kit of Parts is a reusable set of components to help you build, customize, and reuse diagrams. These resources represent the basic parts of a common, standardized visual language for Salesforce diagrams.

For more information on building diagrams, see How to Build Salesforce Diagrams.

Resources

In our second release (Version 2.0), we support basic shapes in Google Slides and Powerpoint. The latest versions of the kit will be available and maintained here.

Copy the Kit of Parts (Version 2.0) in Google Slides (Google account required) Download the Kit of Parts (Version 2.0) in Powerpoint (.pptx) format Icon for download

You can access the Kit Of Parts (Version 2.0) on the tool of your choice. Our current partners are Lucidchart, Elements.cloud, and Miro.

The following sections detail what’s in the Kit of Parts and provide basic guidance for styling your own diagrams with consistency and accuracy.

diagram header image

A header should appear at the top of every diagram. The header helps your audience understand the purpose and intent of the diagram. It should take up approximately 10% of the height of the diagram and 100% of the width.

A consistent header gives the person viewing your diagram a predictable place to quickly identify the following:

Every part of the header should be considered a required element.

Cards

Cards are a base shape. All elements of your diagram must be represented in a card. Cards can be resized and they can have either transparent or colored fills. There are three card variations — Detailed, Collapsed, and Container — that you can use to represent the different elements of in your diagram.

Card Anatomy

An example of a detailed card is below, with the different card sections labelled. The only required element in a card is the title text. All other card elements are optional.

card anatomy diagram

Card Header

The top portion of the card is reserved for the header. All cards require a title, which is left aligned to the edge of the separator. If you use a header icon, the title text should be vertically aligned with the icon. Header icons should help an audience quickly understand what entity, area or concept is represented within the card.

Card Body

The optional body section of the card contains additional, text-based details about the entity represented. The attribute section is represented as a list, with the text left-aligned to the edge of the title separator.

The card footer, called the Metadata Footer, is for additional characteristics about an entity. This section is optional, and is unique to Salesforce diagrams. The title element contains the only text in the footer section. Below the title, you can add an optional section of icons to display additional information about the entity represented in the card. Icons are arranged in rows. All icons must have an explanatory entry in your diagram key.

Uses for the footer title include:

Uses for the footer icons include:

You can find examples of how to use the metadata footer in the diagram templates.

Card Variations

The kit’s three card variations are Detailed, Collapsed, and Container. You can mix and match each portion of the card anatomy within these variations as needed, keeping in mind that all cards require title. Cards can act as single entities or as containers for multiple entities; you can nest cards inside other cards to represent hierarchical relationships. Make use of the ability to adjust your cards’ size, color, and transparency to create clear and understandable diagrams.

examples of  detailed, collapsed, and container card variations

Refer to the diagram templates for ideas on how to use these variations, along with color, to distinguish entity types (for example, products, input channels, services, and objects) in your diagrams.

Connectors

connectors and pills

Connectors represent a relationship, integration, or process step between two cards. Line styles indicate a different type of connection and should be represented in your diagram key. Endpoints indicate direction of an integration or process connector. Endpoints also indicate cardinality and ordinality on a relationship connector.

Pills provide details about the behavior of the connector. Pills are optional. The pill text should use the same font size as the card body text in your diagram.

Refer to the templates for example uses of connectors and pills.

Icons

product, platform, and industry icons

The kit provides a basic set of icons to represent the Salesforce entities in your diagram. For additional utility, action, doctype icons and more, refer to the Lightning Design System icons. Be sure to include text descriptors for icons in your diagram key.

Accessibility

Around the world, approximately 1.3 billion people live with some form of disability, accounting for 15% of the world’s population. Accessibility is about making your diagram understandable for all your viewers. There are two particular focus areas that can help your diagrams be more accessible: optimizing for screen readers and using color contrast appropriately.

You can more resources on designing for accessibility on the Salesforce Design blog.

Screen Readers
A screen reader is a software application that reads aloud the words in a file, app, or website. A screen reader can read diagrams to individuals who are unable to see it clearly. The best format for screen reader compatibility is PDF (Portable Document Format). Unlike images and non-accessible applications, PDFs can be accessed by screen readers for reading words, shapes, and colors. Exporting your diagrams to PDF format when sharing with others can boost accessibility.

Color Contrast
Increasing the color contrast is another way to help your diagram be more accessible. People will be better able to recognize and read your diagrams when they meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) minimum color contrast of having a 4.5:1 ratio between the background color behind the text and the color of the text itself.

color palette sample to show suggested contrast

Each color in the Salesforce color system has a number, between 0 and 100, associated with it. When choosing colors for your diagrams, make sure the background color behind the text is at least 50 points greater than or less than the color of the text. For example, if your background color is 80, then your text color should be no higher than 30. Consider using the 50-point rule as needed for borders and outlines as well.


Additional Resources

For more information, see the following resources: