Summary
We built Adobe’s design language, Spectrum, to work on a huge and varied product ecosystem. Adobe’s offering includes dozens of connected desktop, web, and mobile experiences with millions of worldwide users. Some of our products are brand new and some have been in the market for decades. Hear from two of Spectrum’s designers as they give an overview of the design system and answer your questions about building and scaling a design system!
Key Insights
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Spectrum supports over 130 Adobe products spanning multiple platforms and business units with diverse technologies.
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The design system evolved from a few Adobe designers managing Illustrator files to a dedicated cross-functional team since around 2015.
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Spectrum’s team focuses on design, documentation, and defining tokens but relies on product engineering teams for component implementation.
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Component health is tracked transparently using a design checklist linked to open tickets to prioritize fixes.
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Spectrum shifted from quarterly global versions to individual component versioning for more granular updates and smoother communication.
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Spectrum Contributions is a sister site showcasing design work-in-progress components to gather community feedback early and increase visibility.
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Design tokens serve as a single source of truth for attributes like color and sizing, enabling theme flexibility and consistent UI kit generation.
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Leonardo, a tool developed by Nate Baldwin’s team, automates generating accessible color palettes by targeting specific contrast ratios across themes.
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Naming components and their properties precisely is the toughest challenge, addressed by working closely with a content strategist, Jess Satel.
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Spectrum maintains strong collaboration with multiple engineering teams through weekly meetings, office hours, and Slack channels to synchronize design decisions and implementation feedback.
Notable Quotes
"Our team does not actually build the components consumed by product teams due to how Adobe's teams are structured."
"We use a design checklist to show the health of each component, leaving items unchecked if they don't meet standards."
"Naming things is the hardest thing; it’s an ongoing process involving components, their parts, and properties."
"We investigate whether we can skin native components to respect platform conventions while identifying commonalities and differences."
"Instead of choosing colors and then checking contrast, we define target contrast ratios first and generate colors accordingly."
"Leonardo helps generate color palettes that meet contrast requirements, ensuring accessible themes."
"Our UI kits are generated through JavaScript from design tokens, reducing manual errors and keeping everything up to date."
"We have a Spectrum Guild that includes product designers and managers from every business unit to surface major changes and requests."
"We hold quarterly town halls and office hours to keep the community informed and supported."
"We’re far from done; evolving foundational elements, accessibility, and customization tools will drive Spectrum’s future."
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