What is a Design System?
Design systems are often the unsung heroes of the products we use every day—from mobile apps and websites to the interfaces on television screens and car dashboards. They serve as the DNA for product design, encoding the principles and elements that define the very experience users interact with. Colors and icons convey meaning. Buttons are implemented with a consistent size and shape. Language is clear and understandable. If your design system does its job well, your end users hopefully don't spend too much time thinking about it at all.
Without a design system, you may find yourself in a crisis of inconsistency—navigating a maze where every turn could lead to confusion, brand dilution, or user frustration. In this series, we’ll walk you through the basics of design systems, dissect what makes them so essential, and guide you through crafting one that not only elevates your digital presence, but also protects it against the spread of design disarray.
Components of a Design System
You can think of hierarchy in design systems like this:
Design System
This top-level container is your overarching guidance, an ever-evolving foundational collection of resources and processes for your product ecosystem. It can include technical specs, design tokens, documentation, and best practices; it can also include core principles and processes to guide UX design decisions and product development.
Component and Pattern Libraries
These are reusable visual elements and interaction patterns that inform the common interface and behaviors of your product. They can include templates, layouts, interaction patterns, code snippets, and components—supported by detailed documentation.
Foundational Elements
These set the visual language, including the appearance of elements and the overall voice and tone of the product, such as color and typography. They also commonly include icons, logos, illustrations, and your accessibility and brand guidelines.
How do you know if you need a Design System?
The decision to adopt a design system should be driven by specific needs:
Check for inconsistency
Scrutinize your product’s look and feel across different platforms. If you find jarring inconsistencies or a brand identity that loses its thread from one experience to the next, it’s a sign that you may need a design system.
Consider diverse themes or platforms
Does your product need to shift seamlessly between themes (like a dark and light mode, or different brands) or fit a variety of device platforms and screen sizes? A design system could be the key to managing this complexity with grace.
Cut down on redundancy
Take stock of any repetitive design tasks or recurring issues that eat up your team’s time. Standardized components from a design system can streamline your process.
Enhance communication
Look at how your team communicates about design. Are there misunderstandings, or do you waste time clarifying design elements? A shared design language can iron out these wrinkles.
Ease onboarding
Consider the onboarding process for new team members. A robust design system can make this transition faster and more effective, getting everyone to contribute sooner.
Boost lifecycle efficiency
Reflect on your product’s lifecycle. If there’s room to speed up design, prototyping, and updates, a design system can be a catalyst for efficiency, enhancing every stage of product development.
Anticipating challenges in implementing a Design System
Ongoing maintenance
Firstly, akin to any product, a design system demands continuous attention and effort—not just for its initial setup but also for its maintenance. Just like great products, which continue to evolve, a design system is never truly done. Keeping a design system updated and relevant requires a dedicated stream of resources and time, making it a long-term commitment.
Delayed gratification
The impact of a design system is profound, yet it unfolds over time. This slow reveal of benefits can sometimes hinder buy-in from leadership, particularly if it diverts resources or focus from immediate project goals. The initial investment, both in terms of time and potentially expanding your team, might be significant before the tangible rewards become evident.
Resource allocation
Allocating the right resources is a balancing act. Beyond the initial development, design systems need ongoing input from designers, developers, and product managers to remain effective. This might mean rethinking priorities or even expanding your team to ensure the design system doesn’t stagnate.
Cultural transformation
Perhaps one of the subtler yet more complex challenges is the cultural shift required to integrate a design system across an organization. It’s not just about adopting a new set of tools or processes; it’s about changing how teams communicate, collaborate, and conceive their work.