đź“ť Articles
How to build a cohesive icon library for your design system
In part two, Quyen Nguyen discusses the technical foundations of Veneer’s iconography at HP, emphasizing the importance of a well-structured design process. They cover key aspects such as canvas setup, consistent sizes, visual balance, and the need for thorough documentation to support the icon library.
Why Your Design System is Failing (And How to Fix It)
Allison notes that design systems often fail due to irrelevance and usability issues, not missing components. They highlight mistakes like building everything upfront and creating barriers for designers. Emphasizing a product-first approach, they advocate for measuring impact over output and involving developers early, stressing that design systems should enhance productivity.
The Pre-Mortem: Transforming a Skeptical Design System Team
Guy highlights the importance of prioritising the design system team's well-being before starting a new project. Using the pre-mortem technique, the team identified potential failure points and developed actionable solutions, fostering a supportive environment that renewed their confidence and focus in successfully launching the new design system.
Rethinking Contribution: Lessons from the Messy Middle of Design Systems
Ness advocates for rethinking contribution models in design systems to align with organisational needs, emphasising the importance of inclusivity and collaboration. By fostering a supportive culture and ensuring leadership buy-in, teams can encourage meaningful contributions and build trust within the system.
đź‘€ Interesting Reads
Analysis of Variants
Nathan introduces the Anova plugin, which automates the extraction of component specifications from Figma, conducting an "analysis of variants" to produce clear, deterministic data. By focusing on principles like completeness and human readability, Anova enhances documentation and handoffs between design and development, streamlining workflows while preserving design intent.
Evolving Design System Skills
Any artist will tell you that the tools they use impact their art. The same is true for us—the tools we use in our design systems work certainlyBen reflects on the evolving skills needed for design system practitioners, noting the pressure to continuously learn amid rapid technological changes. Key skills identified include discernment, empathy, and critical thinking, highlighting the importance of fostering a supportive culture that balances technical and soft skills while encouraging connection and community in design systems.
Design Attractors
Donnie explores the changing role of design system specialists, suggesting their relevance may decline as systems grow more complex. They define design systems as tools for organisational agreement and introduces "design attractors" as stable solutions from common practices.
🧰 Tools / Resources
Figmentation
Figmentation is a Figma plugin that automates the extraction of design tokens from components, streamlining the documentation process. With just one click, it generates organised annotations for colours, typography, spacing, and more, facilitating easier handoffs to developers and ensuring clarity in design systems.