Design systems
Design systems in information technology, particularly in product design, are intricate ecosystems that streamline, align, and simplify our efforts in designing and building products.
These systems are pivotal in enhancing scalability, accessibility, usability, and velocity. A well crafted design system ensures uniform design patterns, effective management of responsive layouts, accessible styles, and facilitates swift and continuous evolution of brand identity.
Tokens
At the core of a modern design system lies the token or variable system. Its primary purpose is to ensure cohesive design through predefined values and to offer advanced features, such as automatic theme management.
Components
Coming soon
A robust, maintainable, and scalable token system is vital for the next layer of a design system: components. While components also aid in streamlining styling and brand evolution, this isn't their main function. Their primary role is to condense scale, fostering opportunities for long-term growth.
Documentation
Although design systems may appear similar superficially, each is implemented differently, with unique mental models. Therefore, it's crucial to maintain an up-to-date, accessible, and clear documentation of the system.
At Once UI, we advocate for design systems that demystify complex concepts and offer user-friendly solutions. These solutions enable product teams to integrate advanced features that enhance usability and brand aesthetics. Unfortunately, this is often not the reality. Design systems are frequently judged based on scale, leading to the mistaken belief that more components and styles equate to a better system. With Once UI, we aim to demonstrate a method for creating design systems that achieve a more compact scale while offering a high degree of customization.