When I stumble across articles or books on design systems a surprising amount of focus is put on starting with audits—that document which shows a shameful array of button styles and components using 50 shades of grey.
This is absolutely a necessary step in building a Design System but the real need starts way before that.
It’s a product — used by humans
The word system, and its inherent technical implications, can make it easy to forget that a Design System at the end of the day is simply another “Product” which is used by humans. The majority of the time, this will be your colleagues and peers across your product, design and engineering teams.
The first place to start is by discussing with those folks what challenges they face and how a Design System can respond to those challenges.
In previous companies, I have been fortunate enough to build systems from the ground up. Working closely in small teams gave me a clear sense of the problem as all the folks affected by the lack of a Design System were in regular discussions in the small teams that we head.
In my current company, we are a tech org of almost 300 people and I joined the company when they were already 6 years old.
In that situation, one of the most beneficial stages in building the design system was to throw all assumptions out of the window and interview a large group of designers and engineers.
One of my first questions was to understand what level of experience they had in building a design system. Once known, you can tailor the message and your approach to building this new Design System product.
Why do we need one?
If the answer to this question is not clear, you need to go back to step one and continue with those interviews. Like any product, launching without a product-market fit is a great way to secure failure.
There can be many reasons for needing a design system but the most common needs will fall somewhere within these:
The need to work more efficiently
The need to align with brand
The need to easily iterate on and update the brand over time
The need to improve overall product quality
The need to improve collaboration between design and engineering
Playing back people’s needs throughout the early stages can be a key driver of success. Remind folks of the pain points and how building out a Design System will alleviate those pains.
For example, I discovered that many teams were using many different “Design Systems”. Each team believed they were working in the best way using libraries and frameworks to help get the job done.
The problem was that there was no alignment and in some cases, different libraries were used. This of course means that many products start to look, feel, and behave differently.
It means if someone switches teams or needs to work on another product it’s not easy as easy to just dive in and get working, as there is a need to learn a new way of doing things.
All of this compounds into high inefficiencies across teams and sub-standard products. Rather than building on top of each other’s work and amounting to something magnificent like the Pyramids of Giza teams were all building in parallel, resulting in a few garden walls, all built from different stone.
Repetition is key
As you transition your team from a world without a Design System to one that does, or if you are taking them from an immature system to a mature system, one thing stays true: repetition is key.
Repetition of the problem that you are solving. Repetition of the need for this Design System. Repetition of key concepts and terminology. Repetition, repetition, repetition. You get the idea.
The reason is that depending on how you build and maintain your system, some folks may only be exposed to it on occasion, and some may be working on it every day. In any case, it’s unlikely your users are “in it” every waking hour.
The Design System solves a problem for them. It’s a product. Just like you use a weather app to check the weather for the day, a designer or an engineer will reach for the design system to help build that next feature.
Once it has solved that job to be done, it will be set aside while the person gets back to what they were doing. This is where the long-term repetition of key messages can help instil a culture and a vision of this Design System.
Wrapping up
Like any good product, this one will need iterations too based on strong feedback loops with its customers. There are few shortcuts to building a solid design system that is widely adopted — it’s a long game.
So, next time you are working on yours or making use of one, remember to connect the human part and ensure that as a product it is solving your, or your customers, needs.
If you have any thoughts on this topic or would like to continue the conversation, feel free to connect on Linkedin.
Powering this week’s thoughts
Music plays such an important role when I am thinking, working, and reflecting. I also find it interesting to see what others are listening to.
It's a gateway into an aspect of their personality. That's why I'd like to share, with each article, an artist or playlist that I have been listening to that week.