The Best Design System Is No System

by Tony Olsson

The idea of design systems can be found throughout history. In order to meet expanding needs, designers turn to design systems to streamline design with the hopes of providing value at lower cost and effort.

To meet expanding needs, designers turn to design systems to streamline design with the hopes of providing value at lower cost and effort. In essence, a design system is a complete set of standards intended to handle design at scale using reusable components and patterns.

The components have been standardized through use over time and picked at the point when they became common knowledge.

Design systems are the rationalist approach to design where functional performance is the guiding principle. The sweet spot between what is viable, feasible and economically sound.

At the moment its seems that everyone (myself included) is pointing to the many benefits of the design system. Replicating with speed at scale. Reduced lead times. Creating a unified language across cross-functional teams. Visual consistency across products, channels and departments. Faster onboarding times and higher turnover. A blissful prophecy to answer all design problems.

But are there no dangers involved? Have design systems never been tried before? Why is everyone rushing to create their own design system if they aim to solve the same problems?

The idea of design systems might still be new to some but fairly established in Ui design for some years now. But the idea of design systems is much older. The idea of a systemized approach to design can be found throughout history.