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Your first component
Donnie explores why the button is often the first component built in design systems, highlighting its popularity, necessity for interactivity, visual complexity, self-containment, and utility in testing tokens. These factors make it an approachable yet impactful starting point for system development.
How to start building community around your design system
Luke suggests that building a strong community is essential for the success of a design system, likening it to guiding a shared goal rather than letting it grow haphazardly. By identifying stakeholder tiers, creating structured communication plans, and leveraging relatable analogies, teams can foster engagement, trust, and adoption across their organisation.
Designing design systems: A framework for names, terms, and definitions
Jess shares a framework for creating meaningful, intentional terminology in design systems, emphasising the importance of names, terms, and definitions. Through reflective questioning, structured discussions, and thoughtful communication, teams can align design and communication choices, making their systems clearer and more user-friendly.
Loose thoughts: Staging component libraries
Luis explores strategies for managing components in design systems, addressing challenges like incomplete documentation, versioning, and collaboration inefficiencies. By introducing staging libraries and tiered progression for components, they propose a scalable approach to ensure flexibility during design while maintaining high standards for production.
đź‘€ Interesting Reads
The Sorry State of States
Nathan examines how state properties in Figma design assets often diverge from code implementations, creating inefficiencies and friction in design and development workflows. By aligning Figma assets more closely with code logic, teams can improve collaboration, automation, and the usability of their design systems.
Every token is a feature
Dave reflects on how every design token functions as a feature, acting as a bridge between design and engineering while solving organisational challenges like consistency and customisability. However, like features, tokens can also bloat systems, introduce technical debt, and create complexity, requiring thoughtful implementation and management to avoid diminishing their value.
Explaining Design Systems to a Golfer
Homer uses golf analogies to explain design systems, comparing a golfer’s tools to the components, styles, and documentation that make up a design system. By emphasising consistency, functionality, and accessibility, he demonstrates how design systems improve both developer efficiency and user experience.
Rethinking the Term "Primitives" in Design Systems
Dennis questions the term “primitives,” proposing “root” or “foundation” as clearer alternatives to improve understanding and collaboration across teams. By rethinking terminology, Dennis highlights the importance of inclusive language in design systems.