Principal at Big Medium, design system consultant, web designer/developer, speaker, writer, musician, and artist
💡 Make design systems a priority by attaching the effort to other priorities.
In order for a design system to be successful, it must be a priority. If it's not, it will die. But design systems are a means to an end; the trick is to make a design system a priority by making it a critical component of accomplishing other priorities.
- The checkout redesign/rebuild is a priority => the design system provides many of the checkout UI components
- Rolling out the rebrand is a priority => the design system's token architecture is the vehicle of rolling out the rebrand
- Replatforming to the new CMS is a priority => the design system's components power the UI layer of the new CMS
It takes careful work to strike a balance between advancing product work while simultaneously establishing critical design system infrastructure. That's what our team at Big Medium has been helping clients do for the last decade. It's an artform!
#designsystems#design#uxdesign#frontend
In the end, all roads lead to the design system 🛣 😁
I think the challenge design/dev teams face is that there are so many secondary priorities, that the primary priority can lose focus. Or even worse, when only primary work is planned and secondary work is invisible or implicit, both get lost.
Giving a team room to breathe and making secondary priorities explicit is the way to go 🙏
If you’re trying to sell others in your organization on your design system vision, challenge yourself to sell the same vision without using “design system“ and all the other jargon that makes it feel like a new priority instead of an accelerator to others.
Principal at Big Medium, design system consultant, web designer/developer, speaker, writer, musician, and artist
💡 Make design systems a priority by attaching the effort to other priorities.
In order for a design system to be successful, it must be a priority. If it's not, it will die. But design systems are a means to an end; the trick is to make a design system a priority by making it a critical component of accomplishing other priorities.
- The checkout redesign/rebuild is a priority => the design system provides many of the checkout UI components
- Rolling out the rebrand is a priority => the design system's token architecture is the vehicle of rolling out the rebrand
- Replatforming to the new CMS is a priority => the design system's components power the UI layer of the new CMS
It takes careful work to strike a balance between advancing product work while simultaneously establishing critical design system infrastructure. That's what our team at Big Medium has been helping clients do for the last decade. It's an artform!
#designsystems#design#uxdesign#frontend
Having a proper design system might seem like an Everest to climb, there is a practical way of implementing design systems and keeping them alive and healthy.
The analogy of washing dishes can be apt here. Just as letting dishes pile up can turn what is a manageable task into an overwhelming one, neglecting the gradual integration of a design system can similarly make its implementation seem daunting and prohibitively expensive. If we approach design system implementation like we do with washing dishes (hopefully)—tackling them one at a time, as soon as they're used—we can maintain a cleaner, more useful, more pleasant situation.
In the context of design systems, this means integrating and prioritizing design system components and principles as we go, rather than waiting for a "big bang" overhaul. Brad Frost outlines in this post great ideas for how to take on your design system a bit at a time like when a checkout redesign is seen as an opportunity to implement and refine checkout UI components from the design system, we're effectively washing our dishes immediately after use. When rolling out a rebrand, leveraging the design system's token architecture allows for a smoother transition, akin to cleaning up as we cook. And when replatforming to a new CMS, using the design system's components to power the UI layer ensures that we're keeping our workspace tidy and efficient. #designsystem#userexperience#uxdesign#designsystems
Principal at Big Medium, design system consultant, web designer/developer, speaker, writer, musician, and artist
💡 Make design systems a priority by attaching the effort to other priorities.
In order for a design system to be successful, it must be a priority. If it's not, it will die. But design systems are a means to an end; the trick is to make a design system a priority by making it a critical component of accomplishing other priorities.
- The checkout redesign/rebuild is a priority => the design system provides many of the checkout UI components
- Rolling out the rebrand is a priority => the design system's token architecture is the vehicle of rolling out the rebrand
- Replatforming to the new CMS is a priority => the design system's components power the UI layer of the new CMS
It takes careful work to strike a balance between advancing product work while simultaneously establishing critical design system infrastructure. That's what our team at Big Medium has been helping clients do for the last decade. It's an artform!
#designsystems#design#uxdesign#frontend
💡 Make design systems a priority by attaching the effort to other priorities.
In order for a design system to be successful, it must be a priority. If it's not, it will die. But design systems are a means to an end; the trick is to make a design system a priority by making it a critical component of accomplishing other priorities.
- The checkout redesign/rebuild is a priority => the design system provides many of the checkout UI components
- Rolling out the rebrand is a priority => the design system's token architecture is the vehicle of rolling out the rebrand
- Replatforming to the new CMS is a priority => the design system's components power the UI layer of the new CMS
It takes careful work to strike a balance between advancing product work while simultaneously establishing critical design system infrastructure. That's what our team at Big Medium has been helping clients do for the last decade. It's an artform!
#designsystems#design#uxdesign#frontend
Some insights from Supernova's State Of Design Tokens 2024 report
1. 85.8% of design tokens are managed by designers, mostly within dedicated design system teams. Developers only own tokens in 9.9% of cases, showing a strong design-led governance trend.
2. 62.7% of respondents do not version their design tokens, a significant increase from the previous report. This highlights an area for improvement in maintaining consistency and compatibility.
3. Manual processes dominate the design token workflow, with 44.4% not automating their tokens from design to code. There’s significant room for improvement in embracing automation.
4. Design tokens are primarily used for visual properties, with colors (96.2%) and border radius (84.0%) being the most common types, ensuring consistent visual design across platforms.
5. Significant decline in developer participation: Only 12.7% of respondents were developers, down from 21.3% in the previous survey. Increased cross-functional collaboration is needed.
You can 'download' the PDF here - https://lnkd.in/ef5QKgKX (email address and details required).
#DesignSystems#DesignTokens#WebDesign#WebDevelopment
🙏🖤
What are the 10 essential components every #DesignSystem should include?
Let me give you a head start.
1. Design Principles
Establish clear design principles that guide decision-making and ensure alignment with the overall design direction.
“Our design system is rooted in the principle of simplicity, ensuring a seamless user experience across all touchpoints.”
2. ......
Add in the comments your thoughts and experiences. Let's create together to most updated list of essential components
#Designsystem#Design#Development#Frontend#UXdesign#components#ITMLDesign
I wanted to say this, though 👇
Before making "complicated" design make sure to
1. Make it usable → Consult with developers they are the ones who will actually construct it.
2. Keep it usable → like making it easy and fun to use.
3. Check fancy design is doable → that's the reality check.
🔰 Remember
Every design decision has a ripple effect in development.
Source Pavle Lucic Brother 🤝
#innovationindesign#uxdesigner#designcommunity#figmadesign#plugindevelopment#uidesign#uidevelopment
I have been part of a few #Shopify vs #Composable architecture discussions lately - more polarized that I would have imagined.
Every business is different but here is my high level take on the trade-offs :-
⦾ Architecture is the means to an end and not the end itself. One should understand what exactly they are getting or giving up with each option.
⦾ Flexibility is a blessing and a curse. Blessing because it "might" generate incremental revenue; curse because it is almost always more expensive.
⦾ Complexity of the business is the most important angle here. A digital transformation gives a business the unique opportunity to think through the value attached to that complexity. So to say, try not to take all the baggage with you.
⦾ Cost and time are always the constraints. It is important to keep those as guardrails instead of the primary measures of success.
Finally, it is not a black and white decision - the best solution most likely is going composable with some aspects and staying coupled (FE+BE) in other areas.
Designing a website is like building a house, it starts with a solid foundation and a well-constructed framework.
That’s what our High-Level Architecture (HLA) process is all about. We build our foundation by conducting research and understanding user needs to define a clear user journey. Using this information, we are able to create wireframes and prototypes that map out the structure and flow of the user interface.
In following this stepwise approach, we ensure our clients’ interfaces are aligned with their goals and their end user’s unique needs.
#WebDesign#UXDesign#WebDevelopment
Self improvement & Career coaching | Soft skills development for Designers, PM's & Devs
8moIn the end, all roads lead to the design system 🛣 😁 I think the challenge design/dev teams face is that there are so many secondary priorities, that the primary priority can lose focus. Or even worse, when only primary work is planned and secondary work is invisible or implicit, both get lost. Giving a team room to breathe and making secondary priorities explicit is the way to go 🙏