Design Systems: How it works and why use it

Continue reading to learn why Design Systems are more than just element repositories and their benefits and purposes for your business!

What is a Design System?

A Design System is a unified system consisting of elements, components, rules, and practices that guide the development of a company's interfaces. In this sense, the Design System serves as a "source of truth" for digital product consistency and standardization.

The goal of this system is to make the work of designers and developers easier while also creating an identity that users can easily recognize. The Design System is a tool that aids in the development of interfaces and its absence can result in rework, inconsistencies, lost time, and other resources.

Whats the difference between a Design System, a Styleguide, and a Pattern Library?

We may initially confuse the concepts, but we must try to avoid this. These tools, while similar, have very different ideas, goals, and complexities.

The Design System, like the Pattern Library, is more than just a collection of UI Design components. It's also not just a visual guideline for the interface, as the Styleguide is. Aside from that, the Design System is a living tool that evolves in tandem with the growth and maturation of a company's UX Design projects.

With this system, you can use all UI elements to create a coherent and consistent interface while keeping the brand's and company's vision and objectives in mind. The use of a Pattern Library alone does not guarantee the creation of a consistent result. It's as if they're Lego pieces that would be used at random buildings with no standards or rules.

What is the function of a Design System?

One of the primary motivations for developing the Design System concept was the desire to turn the development of interfaces, whether digital or not, into scalable products. In other words, they could be created more consistently and timely to meet the needs of customers and users.

As a result, with this principle as the primary motivator, we can state that the purpose of a Design System is to encourage the development of interfaces while maintaining the company's optimal level of scalability. However, as the concept evolved and improved, so did its purposes and objectives.

In this sense, in addition to scalability, Design Systems can serve four other functions:

• Allow designers more leeway
• Maintains the brand's use consistent
• Serve as a socio-technical tool
• More freedom to experiment and create

Design System: more creative freedom

When we hear that a tool can standardize interfaces while also making them consistent, we consider the existence of several constraints that can limit designers' creativity.

One of the most serious concerns that some professionals have about using Design Systems is that it will undermine their creativity. However, the opposite occurs. A well-developed design system is based on the following elements:

Design Principles: applying concepts to achieve the company's design vision.
⁠Design Vision: the company's clear and well-defined product strategy and goals

In this way, a well-developed Design System does not limit designers' creativity. Still, it provides the guidelines and principles that allow them to create and experiment with solutions that meet users' needs and solve problems.

A social tool with technical outcomes

Another reason for improving Design Systems is to empower the team and people.

We emphasize that Design Systems are more than just codes, documents, and UI elements. Design Systems is all of that, plus the relationships between the people who will develop and use them in their projects and interfaces.

Design Systems promote communication, trust, and responsibility sharing throughout their development, use, and constant updating. Furthermore, they facilitate interaction between those who create the Design System, those who use it, and the end user. As a result, using the Design System strengthens the relationships of the people involved in the process.

What are the advantages of using the Design System?

Creating a Design System may appear to be a lot of work. But believe me, this tool will save you several hours of development time. There are also additional advantages to using design systems. Design Systems enable developers to create more consistent interfaces because UI elements are standardized and adhere to proper usage guidelines.

Better team communication: Because the Design System is the "source of truth," discussions between developers and designers tend to smooth out once all guidelines and elements are finalized.
⁠Design Process Scalability: The Design System enables design process scalability. Interface development becomes much more agile and simple in this manner.
⁠Greater emphasis on UX Design: Once the elements are standardized, designers can concentrate on the experience rather than the components. In this way, the Design System contributes to a better end-user experience.

5 System Design Principles

To get these benefits, Design Systems must be founded on certain principles that are unique to this tool. As previously stated, creating a repository of UI elements is insufficient for developing a Design System. Some fundamental characteristics guide the development of a design system. They are:

1. Design Systems are digital products

Design Systems, like the companies' interfaces and products, require ongoing maintenance and updating. In this sense, simply creating a tool and leaving it alone is insufficient. As a result, it will become obsolete and eventually go out of use. It is critical to consider Design Systems as living entities whose continuous improvement is required to maintain efficiency.

2. Collaboration is critical

Following the preceding principle, it is critical to encourage cross-functional collaboration to keep the Design System updated. Furthermore, the Design System must be shared with all areas and stakeholders to meet their needs. It makes no sense to create a Design System that is only accessible to developers.

3. The best approach is simplicity

Design Systems are tools to find solutions and ways to create new digital interfaces. As a result, the information must be well organized and easily accessible. Navigation should be simple, and guidelines, answers, and solutions should be easily accessible.

4. Design Systems necessitate communication

Participation between the teams is critical for keeping stakeholders informed of changes and updates to the Design System. As a result, creating emails, newsletters, and Q&A are essential strategies for maintaining communication and engaging stakeholders. It's pointless to create a fantastic Design System if no one knows about it.

5. Centralized design systems are required

The Design System is exclusive to the company. In this sense, projects and teams should only have access to one Design System. It is necessary to put the tool somewhere everyone can access it — perhaps in the cloud. Furthermore, the usage instructions must be simple and not require technical or particular knowledge.

What components comprise a Design System?

So far, we've seen the main characteristics of a Design System, what it's used for, and what its benefits are. Nice! But what exactly should a Design System consist of? Four essential elements must be present in your Design System:

• Purpose and values
• Design Principles
• Brand Identity and guidelines
• Components, patterns, and elements

Purpose and values

Defining objectives to keep everyone on the same page about the company's goals and desires is critical. As a result, everyone who uses the Design System will remember why it was created and how it can help the company or project achieve its goals.

However, keep in mind that goals change as a company grows. As a result, the objectives must be reviewed regularly, and any updates must be communicated to everyone. Conversely, values represent the company's beliefs, which will guide decisions and choices. Describing values within a Design System is critical so that design decisions do not diverge from the company's.

Design Principles

They go beyond the application of simple visual rules to products. Several essential principles and fundamentals aid and guide the development of interface design — the Laws of UX, Gestalt, and Fundamentals of Interaction Design, to name a few. In this sense, these guidelines are critical components of a Design System. Designers will be able to make necessary product design decisions with them.

Brand Identity and guidelines

The Design System is in charge of assisting a company in developing new interfaces and products more easily and quickly. The UX/UI team must understand the brand's strategies, objectives, and voice. Product development must be consistent with the brand's visual identity and thus must consider factors such as:

• Voice and tone
• Icons and shapes
• Illustrations
• Images

It is insufficient for the Design System to aid in creating new interfaces. There must be a concern for maintaining the brand's identity and communication with the user.

Components, patterns, and elements

Without a doubt, these are critical components of a Design System. The components and elements are the units that make up the patterns used to create consistent interfaces. It is essential to remember that the other parts of the Design System serve as the foundation for developing these items. The interface's components and patterns reflect the objectives, design principles, and brand identity.

A Step-by-Step Guide to create a Design System

It takes time and experience to create an efficient Design System. As a result, we know that, in addition to the more theoretical aspects of the subject, it is critical to include a small guide to assist you in developing your first Design System. The following are the primary steps in creating a design system:

• Conduct a visual audit
• Develop the visual language
• Make a pattern library
• Develop documentation

The first step in developing a Design System is to audit the current interface or product design. To do so, thoroughly examine all screens, components, and interface element relationships. Gather a group and take screenshots of each product component and screen. Then, combine the screenshots into a single file and examine each image for inconsistencies and areas for improvement.

Visual language is critical in the development of Design Systems. She is in charge of making each element and component of the system and interfaces a reality. In this regard, the following factors must be considered:

Colors: Include the primary colors associated with the product. Consider the colors, shades, and tones that contribute to brand identity.
⁠Typography: Use no more than two distinct fonts in your interface to avoid confusing or distracting users. Choose legible typography that contrasts nicely with the brand's colors.
⁠Size, Spaces, and Responsiveness: Design a responsive interface that considers all device sizes. Check the dimensions and spaces required using a grid system.
⁠Illustrations and photographs: Keep your brand identity and tone in mind when creating and inserting images and graphics into the interface.

A Pattern Library should be created to supplement the visual audit. To accomplish this, examine the components of your design and identify the essential elements while discarding the unnecessary ones. Create a repository with each of these elements, identifying their functionality.

As a result, you have a portfolio of elements that can be used at any time during the product's development. It is also required to continually review your Pattern Library, adding and removing elements. If this is your first time creating an interface, build your elements with UI standardization concept in mind.

This is possibly the most important step in the Design Systems creation process. The Design System is distinguished from a simple repository or Pattern Library by its documentation. Create documentation that outlines the rules for what to do and what not to do, as well as instructions for updating and communication processes. Guidelines are essential for keeping the Design System alive and well. As exciting as this step is, it should not be ignored.

Remember that this is a must-have tool for any business. However, don't get too hooked up in the Design System's perfection. It is widespread for us to want to create the perfect tool. Unfortunately, the perfect tool does not exist.

So, the most essential step in developing a system is to get started. It will evolve as new products are developed and unique needs emerge. Design Systems must accompany this entire evolutionary journey.

Another critical point is that the system should not be developed independently. Perhaps in a small company or with limited resources, the Design System is generated by a few or a single person. However, having more people — or an entire team — to help develop, maintain, and improve the Design System is ideal.

Conclusion

To create and maintain a successful digital product, a design system must be implemented. A Design System is a library of reusable components that allows for more consistency and efficiency when creating digital products. By using a Design System, you can ensure that your product is user-friendly and visually appealing. If you're curious about learning more on how to create or use a design system, our team would be happy to help. We have years of experience creating successful design systems for companies, both big and small. Let us help you build a gorgeous and functional digital product with our unique Design System methodology!