A design system is a set of guidelines, standards, and tools that help teams design and build consistent, cohesive, and effective digital products. It can include everything from visual design elements, such as colors and typography, to interaction patterns and code components.
The benefits
One of the most significant benefits of building a design system is that it helps to ensure consistency across all parts of a product. This is especially important for large, complex products with multiple teams working on different parts of the user experience. A design system helps to ensure that all teams are working towards the same goals and using the same design language, which in turn helps to improve the overall user experience.
Another benefit of building a design system is that it can help to speed up the design and development process. When teams have a set of pre-defined design elements and patterns to work with, they can spend less time on design decisions and more time building and testing the product. This can lead to faster development times and more efficient use of resources.
A design system can also help to improve communication between teams. When everyone works with the same set of guidelines and standards, it becomes easier to understand and discuss design decisions, improving collaboration and reducing misunderstandings.
The downsides
In addition to these benefits, there are also some potential downsides to building a design system. One of the biggest cons is that creating and maintaining a design system can be time-consuming and resource-intensive. It requires significant time and resources to define the guidelines, develop the design elements, and implement the system across teams.
Another potential downside is that a design system can make it harder for teams to be creative and think outside the box. When teams are constrained by a set of pre-defined design elements and patterns, developing new and innovative ideas can be harder.
The first step to building your own design system
So, what are the first steps to building your design system?
The first step is to understand the needs of your product and your users. This will help you define your design system’s goals and objectives and ensure that it is aligned with the overall goals of your product.
Next, you will need to gather a team of designers, developers, and other stakeholders to work on the design system. The selected team will define the guidelines, create the design elements, and implement the system across teams.
Once you have your team in place, you can start the process of defining the guidelines and creating the design elements. This will involve working on things like typography, colors, and other visual design elements, as well as defining patterns for things like navigation, forms, and other interactive elements.
Once you have a set of design elements and guidelines in place, you can then begin the process of implementing the system across teams. This will involve training and educating teams on the design system, as well as creating tools and resources to help teams work with the system.
Finally, it is important to review and update your design system regularly. As your product evolves and new technologies and design trends emerge, it is essential to review and update your design system to ensure that it remains relevant and practical.
Building a design system can be a time-consuming and resource-intensive process. Still, the benefits of consistency, improved efficiency, and effective communication between teams make it well worth the effort. By understanding the needs of your product and your users, gathering a group of stakeholders, defining guidelines, creating design elements, implementing the system, and regularly reviewing and updating it, you can build a design system that helps your team to develop and maintain effective digital products.
In future articles, we will discuss the specific steps to build an effective and scalable design system.
