📝 Articles
Design systems: focus on value through impact
Ian discusses the importance of establishing shared principles for a Design System, focusing on language, structure, collaboration, and governance. They highlight the value that a well-implemented Design System can bring to attracting talent, improving product development efficiency, ensuring consistency and branding, and enhancing overall organisational processes.
Iterating the GOV.UK Design System contribution model
Chris discusses the iterative approach being taken by the GOV.UK Design System to enhance its contribution model, leveraging lessons learned from successful community collaborations and emphasising prioritisation of community needs and improved communication.
Functions and the future of design systems
Matthew explores the limitations of traditional design systems that function like dictionaries, providing static instructions. They introduce the concept of functions in design systems, which offer dynamic customisation and adaptability to various inputs, enabling more flexible and personalised user experiences.
👀 Interesting Reads
Beyond design systems for interfaces: a mega system of design systems
Min Lu introduces the concept of a Megasystem of Design Systems in their article, providing insights into its benefits and considerations for scaling design operations in large organizations.
Neuro-diversifying your design system
John explores the experience of neurodiversity in the context of design systems. It emphasizes the need to embrace the unique thinking and challenges of neurodivergent designers and highlights the importance of communication, avoiding superficial order, and working with the brain's natural tendencies to create stronger design systems.
Token operations
Donnie discusses the challenges of managing a large number of tokens in a theme and proposes a solution using a special key called "$operations" in the token specification to define sequential transformations on token values. This approach could allow greater flexibility and the possibility of reusing common operations, making token management more efficient and manageable.
🧰 Tools / Resources
Adobe Spectrum Token Visualiser Tool
A pretty neat interactive tool to show where and how design tokens are linked across the Adobe Spectrum Design System.
Design Systems Directory
This is a neat little tool to search through over 145 design systems documentation sites.