Summary
Design systems have become an integral part of product-driven organisations, promising consistency, efficiency, and improved collaboration. Amidst the success stories, there are risks, challenges, and failures bound to accompany their implementation and adoption. Why do some design organisations thrive despite it, and others fail miserably? Because of the pandemic of productisation, strategic product decisions are driven by product managers who want to build fast and break things, and user advocates are cut off from discovery, becoming mere feature producers who pass on unvalidated requirements to the design system. Designers working on the product side claim that the design system hinders their creative process and stifles innovation, when it should enable it, while the design system team prides itself on setting standards of excellence that has become a purpose on its' own. The pace at which the design system can deliver upon product requirements often leads to it being perceived as a bottleneck by both designers and product managers, and testing their outputs with end users is a no man’s land. So what is the true role of design systems? How can we use them to drive change? Embarking on a design systems journey is a rollercoaster ride for the entire organisation, not to mention the team that runs it. The success of a design system will depend on many factors beyond the UI inventory or tech stack — they will manifest themselves differently in each organisation, by amplifying communication and collaboration patterns for better or worse. As an experienced design systems leader, I will share practical insights from my own journey, wins and mistakes, on how to manage design systems that add tangible value to the organisation and initiate positive and transformative changes in our approach to collaboration, design, development and UX. I will share how we can use design systems to drive meaningful conversations, build bridges and create new paradigms.
Key Insights
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Four forces—clear objective, executive sponsorship, peer buy-in, and a dedicated team—must be balanced for design system success.
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Design systems are living products requiring continuous evolution through collaboration and co-creation.
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Silos lead to fragmented experiences and tech/design debt, making design systems crucial for shared language and alignment.
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Stakeholder mapping enables better understanding of hidden agendas and bridges communication gaps.
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Adopting a contribution model requires cultural shifts and can be encouraged by incentives like OKRs and guided handholding.
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Regular rituals such as design critiques, roadmap meetings, and office hours help maintain engagement and alignment.
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Technical challenges like limited engineering resources can be mitigated by rotation programs or ‘boot camps’.
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Measuring adoption alone is insufficient; true impact links to design influence on product strategy and user outcomes.
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Frequent advocacy and education via newsletters, workshops, and hackathons increase adoption and user satisfaction.
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Strong chemistry between designers and engineers and cultural values like shared ownership underpin long-term sustainability.
Notable Quotes
"Design systems are not just UI components but people and culture working together."
"Customers rarely ask us to fix inconsistencies directly; we must watch activation rates and confusion instead."
"Having a design system is not the end goal; it enables radical cost cuts, reduces tech debt, and improves workflows."
"You need sponsorship from senior leadership but also buy-in from all corners of the company to succeed."
"Designers are rebels; to get their buy-in, involve them and treat them as precious collaborators."
"Our design system team became less builders and more librarians and facilitators over time."
"We ran a design system bootcamp to rotate engineers and prevent bottlenecks and burnout."
"It’s a constant balancing act wearing multiple hats like diplomat, facilitator, architect, and community manager."
"Great design doesn’t happen in isolation; it’s subject to power dynamics within organizations."
"The work of the design system is constant change management, raising awareness, and fostering common language."
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