Building a Scalable Design System
A comprehensive design system built on atomic design principles to ensure consistency, accessibility, and scalability across a global product ecosystem.
Design System Philosophy
The design system is built on the foundation of atomic design methodology, creating a unified language that bridges design and development while maintaining flexibility for diverse product needs across the organization.
Modular & Scalable
Built on atomic design principles, allowing components to scale from simple atoms to complex organisms while maintaining consistency.
Inventory & Audit
Started by auditing existing UI to identify inconsistencies, creating a clear roadmap for standardization.
Efficient & Fast
Accelerate design and development workflows by providing reusable, well-documented components that reduce repetitive work.
Accessible & Inclusive
WCAG 2.1 AA compliant by default, ensuring our products are usable by everyone, regardless of their abilities.
Core Values
Consistency First
Every component follows the same design language, ensuring a cohesive user experience across all touchpoints.
Flexibility
The system can be branched and customized for different products while maintaining core principles.
Transparency
Clear guidelines and comprehensive documentation ensure everyone can use the system effectively.
Evolution
The system grows with feedback, iteration, and collaboration from designers, developers, and stakeholders.
Adoption
We prioritized developer experience (DX) and clear contribution guidelines to ensure voluntary uptake.
The Strategic Mission
"My objective was to build a single source of truth that 4 distinct product teams would adopt voluntarily. This meant creating a system that wasn't just 'consistent' but significantly faster and easier to use than the existing fragmented approach."
Situation
The Consistency Challenge. Our product ecosystem suffered from fragmentation, with 20+ button variations, inconsistent color usage, and zero shared DNA between products. Developers were reinventing the wheel for every feature, and designers were trapped in a cycle of inconsistency, actively slowing down our shipping velocity.
The Problem
Inconsistent UI Elements
Multiple teams building similar components independently, resulting in 20+ different button variations across products.
Design-Dev Disconnect
Lack of shared language between designers and developers led to implementation inconsistencies and longer handoff times.
Accessibility Gaps
No standardized accessibility guidelines resulted in WCAG violations and inconsistent user experiences for people with disabilities.
Slow Iteration Cycles
Designers and developers spent 60% of their time recreating existing patterns instead of solving new problems.
Task
Unified Component Library
Created a single source of truth with atomic design principles, building from design tokens to full page templates.
Shared Design Language
Established naming conventions, documentation standards, and communication protocols between design and engineering.
Accessibility by Default
Built WCAG 2.1 AA compliance into every component with clear guidelines, ensuring inclusive design from the start.
Scalable Framework
Designed a modular system that can branch for different product lines while maintaining core consistency and quality.
Our Approach
Audit & Research
Comprehensive inventory of existing components and user pain points
Foundation Building
Established design tokens, principles, and atomic structure
Iterative Creation
Built components from atoms to templates with continuous feedback
Documentation & Rollout
Created comprehensive guides and managed phased adoption
Design Tokens Foundation
Foundational Strategy. I didn't start with UI components; I started with tokens. I established a "Tiered Token Architecture" to bridge the gap between Design and Engineering. This was a strategic choice to enable future white-labeling and multi-brand support without refactoring the codebase. It allowed us to manage Primitive, Semantic, and Component values via Figma Variables, syncing directly to code and ensuring that a brand refresh was a one-click operation, not a six-month project.
Primitive Values
Raw, context-agnostic values that form the base of the system. These never change based on context.
color-blue-500
#3B82F6
spacing-4
16px
font-size-md
16px
Contextual Values
Purpose-driven tokens that reference global tokens and provide meaning within the design system.
color-primary
→ color-blue-500
spacing-component-gap
→ spacing-4
font-size-body
→ font-size-md
Specific Values
Component-specific tokens that ensure consistent styling within specific UI elements.
button-bg-primary
→ color-primary
button-padding-y
→ spacing-3
button-font-size
→ font-size-body
Token Architecture
This hierarchical structure allows for easy theming, brand customization, and system-wide updates by changing values at the appropriate level.
Color Palette
A comprehensive color system with 15 carefully selected colors, each with 5 shades optimized for both light and dark themes.
Color Usage Guidelines
Primary Colors
Used for main actions, links, and brand identity.
Semantic Colors
Convey meaning: success, warning, error states.
Neutral Colors
Backgrounds, borders, and text hierarchy.
Harmonious Type System
A modular type scale based on a 1.250 ratio (Major Third) ensures rhythm and hierarchy across all digital touchpoints.
| Family | Token | Usage | Size | Weight | Line Height |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inter | text-display-2xl | Hero Headings | 72px | Bold (700) | 90px (1.25) |
| Inter | text-display-xl | Section Titles | 60px | Bold (700) | 72px (1.2) |
| Inter | text-display-lg | Page Titles | 48px | Bold (700) | 60px (1.25) |
| Inter | text-display-md | Subtitles | 36px | SemiBold (600) | 44px (1.22) |
| Inter | text-display-sm | Card Titles | 30px | SemiBold (600) | 38px (1.26) |
| Inter | text-display-xs | Small Headings | 24px | SemiBold (600) | 32px (1.33) |
| Inter | text-body-lg | Lead Text | 20px | Regular (400) | 30px (1.5) |
| Inter | text-body-md | Body Text | 16px | Regular (400) | 24px (1.5) |
| Inter | text-body-sm | Captions | 14px | Regular (400) | 20px (1.42) |
Spatial Rhythm
A consistent spacing scale based on a 4px grid ensures rhythm and balance across layouts.
Margin Examples
Padding Examples
Spacing Guidelines
Component Spacing
Use spacing-4 to spacing-6 for internal component padding
Section Spacing
Use spacing-8 to spacing-12 for spacing between sections
Layout Spacing
Use spacing-16 to spacing-20 for major layout divisions
Scalability Pro Tip
By using semantic tokens (e.g.,
color-primary)
instead
of raw values, we can update the entire system's brand color by changing
a
single
line of code. This multi-tier architecture is crucial for supporting
multi-brand
systems and dark mode at scale.
Design Principles & Guidelines
Core principles that guide every design decision and ensure our system remains cohesive, accessible, and user-centered.
Clarity Over Cleverness
Prioritize clear, intuitive interfaces over complex or trendy designs. Users should understand functionality immediately without confusion.
Performance & Efficiency
Design lightweight, fast-loading components that enhance productivity. Every element should serve a purpose.
Accessible by Default
Build inclusivity into every component from the start. Accessibility is not an afterthought but a core requirement.
Consistency is Key
Maintain visual and functional consistency across all touchpoints. Similar patterns should behave the same way.
Mobile-First Thinking
Design for mobile devices first, then scale up. Ensure touch-friendly targets and responsive layouts.
Always Evolving
Our principles are living guidelines that evolve with user feedback, technological advances, and changing needs. We iterate continuously to stay relevant and effective.
Design Guidelines
Use Design Tokens
Always reference design tokens instead of hardcoded values to ensure consistency and easy theming.
Follow the Type Scale
Use predefined typography sizes to maintain visual hierarchy and readability across interfaces.
Test for Accessibility
Verify color contrast, keyboard navigation, and screen reader compatibility for every component.
Document Changes
Keep documentation updated when modifying components, including rationale and migration paths.
Don't Use Custom Colors
Avoid creating one-off colors outside the system. If needed, propose additions to the color palette.
Don't Modify Core Components
Never alter core component code directly. Create variants or extend components instead.
Don't Skip States
Always design hover, active, focus, disabled, and error states for interactive elements.
Don't Ignore Mobile
Never design only for desktop. Consider mobile experiences and touch interactions from the start.
Bridging Design & Dev
A unified workflow ensured that the design system remained the single source of truth, reducing handoff friction and accelerating development cycles.
Design in Figma
Components designed with auto-layout and variants, synced with token variables.
Code in React
Direct mapping of Figma components to React props, styled with Tailwind utility classes.
Document in Storybook
Interactive documentation for every component, including usage guidelines and code snippets.
Result
Velocity Unlocked. The impact was immediate and measurable. We saw a 3x increase in feature shipping speed, achieved 100% WCAG compliance across the board, and finally established a shared language that stopped the "design-dev drift" dead in its tracks.
Reduced time from design to development handoff
Less time spent on repetitive design tasks
Speed increase in creating interactive prototypes
All product teams actively using the system
Improved UI consistency across all products
Reusable components in the library
Qualitative Impact
For Designers
Increased Confidence
Designers feel more confident in their decisions knowing they're using vetted, accessible components.
Focus on Problem-Solving
Less time spent on UI decisions means more time solving user problems and innovating.
Better Collaboration
Shared language with developers improved communication and reduced misunderstandings.
For Developers
Faster Implementation
Pre-built, tested components drastically reduced development time for new features.
Reduced Bugs
Fewer UI bugs reported thanks to thoroughly tested, reusable components.
Clear Documentation
Comprehensive docs and code examples eliminated guesswork in implementation.
Business Impact
Increased Velocity
Product teams ship features 2x faster with ready-to-use components
Better Quality
Consistent UX across products improved user satisfaction scores
Team Satisfaction
90% of team members report increased job satisfaction
Adoption & Metrics
Built a dashboard tracking usage across 15+ products; reduced Figma detachment by 60%.
"The design system has transformed how I work. I can focus on solving user problems instead of reinventing buttons."
"Implementation time has dropped dramatically. The components are well-documented and just work out of the box."
"Our products finally feel cohesive. Users notice and appreciate the consistent experience across all touchpoints."
- New `DatePicker` component
- Dark mode support for `Table`
- Accessibility issue in `Modal` focus trap
- Z-index conflict in `Tooltip`
Evolving the System
We treated the design system as a product, with regular release cycles, semantic versioning, and clear migration paths for consuming teams.
-
Semantic Versioning
Strict adherence to SemVer to communicate impact of changes.
-
Automated Changelogs
Generated from conventional commits for transparency.
-
Migration Guides
Detailed instructions for upgrading to major versions.
-
Education & Onboarding
Conducted bi-weekly workshops and created a "Start Here" guide to onboard new designers.
-
Education & Onboarding
Conducted bi-weekly workshops and created a "Start Here" guide to onboard new designers and developers efficiently.
Key Learnings
Valuable insights and lessons learned throughout the design system journey that will inform future iterations and improvements.
What Worked Well
Starting with Foundations
Building design tokens and atomic elements first created a solid, scalable base. This foundation made it easier to create complex components later.
Early Developer Involvement
Including developers from day one prevented implementation issues and ensured components were technically feasible and performant.
Documentation as We Built
Writing documentation simultaneously with component creation kept everything fresh and accurate, avoiding the need to backfill later.
Pilot Program Approach
Testing with one product team first allowed us to refine the system before organization-wide rollout, catching issues early.
Regular Communication
Weekly updates and monthly showcases kept everyone informed and engaged, building excitement around the system.
Challenges & Solutions
Balancing Flexibility vs. Consistency
Challenge: Teams wanted
customization but
that
risked consistency.
Solution:
Created
variant
system within constraints.
Managing Stakeholder Expectations
Challenge: Leaders wanted
everything
immediately.
Solution:
Created
phased
roadmap
with clear priorities.
Legacy Product Migration
Challenge: Older products had
technical
debt.
Solution: Gradual
migration plan
with
clear milestones.
Maintaining Momentum
Challenge: Risk of system
becoming
stale.
Solution:
Established
governance and contribution
process.
Adoption Resistance
Challenge: Some teams preferred
their own
solutions.
Solution:
Showed
time
savings with
real examples.
Next Steps & Future Vision
Advanced Components
- Data visualization library
- Complex form patterns
- Animation guidelines
Theming & Customization
- Advanced theme builder
- White-label support
- Brand customization
Tools & Automation
- Figma-to-code plugin
- Automated testing suite
- Visual regression tests
Business Impact & ROI
Quantifying the value of consistency.
Reduction in time spent on UI implementation for new features.
Achieved 100% WCAG 2.1 AA compliance for all core components.
Successfully adopted by 4 distinct product lines within 6 months.
Core Takeaway
A successful design system is not just a component library—it's a living product that requires continuous iteration, clear communication, and genuine collaboration between designers, developers, and stakeholders. The most important lesson: start small, document everything, involve your users early, and be prepared to adapt based on feedback.
Think Long-Term
Build for scale and evolution, not just immediate needs
Embrace Feedback
Listen to users and iterate continuously
Document Everything
Clear docs are as important as the components themselves