Design Systems Tool Stack
Design Systems Tool Stack
Design Systems Tool Stack

tools

Design Systems Tool Stack

Romina Kavcic

Dec 15, 2022

Activities and tools that you need when setting up the design system

Activities and tools that you need when setting up the design system

Design System Acquisition

This is where we lay the groundwork, understand what's needed, and who's on board.

  • Design Audit: We take stock of our current designs and what we need.

  • Workshops: We bring stakeholders together to hash out requirements.

  • Educational Sessions: We spread the word on the design system's value.

  • Showcase: We show off what design systems can do.

  • Team Setup: We build our dream team across functions.

  • Foundations: We nail down our core design elements.

  • MVP: We craft a basic UI kit in Figma (or in code), just to see what works best.

  • Case Studies: We learn from the best out there.

  • Stakeholder Interviews: We chat with key players to get their insights and needs.

  • Roadmap: We chart the course for our design system's journey.

Design System Activation

Now, we make the design system a natural part of our workflow and culture.

  • Visual Language: We define the language and stick to it.

  • Design Tokens: We define and standardize the visual atoms of our design language.

  • Component Library: We build a collection of reusable UI components (in Figma, or Sketch)

  • Iteration: We refine our system based on real feedback.

  • Documentation: We create guidelines that are clear and easy to follow. Don't write essays.

  • Tooling: We pick the best tools for our use case.

  • Principles: We might tweak our design principles as we learn more and grow.

  • Scaling: We grow our system to support more products.

  • Onboarding: We teach newbies how to use our system.

  • Workshops & Training: We keep learning and improving.

  • Advocacy: We champion our design system across the company.

  • Support: We help teams get the most out of the system.

  • Governance: We set rules for how the system evolves.

  • Operations: We handle the daily grind to keep the system fresh.

  • Feedback Loops: We listen and adapt based on user input.


Design System Conversion

Here's where we spread the design system and make sure it sticks.

  • Ongoing Workshops & Training: We never stop sharing, educating.

  • Feedback Loops: We gather insights to make things better. ALL the time.

  • Metrics: We track how well the design system is doing (in code and design).

  • Support: We're here to help solve problems and guide users. Open the doors. :)

  • Community Building: We create a network of design system fans. Trust me, it will be easier to grow.

  • Adoption: We encourage everyone to jump on the design system bandwagon.

  • Regular Updates & Maintenance: We keep our system up-to-date.

  • Optimization: We're always looking to do things better.

  • Automations: We find ways to automate repetitive tasks.

  • QA: We introduce quality assurance processes to ensure system integrity.

Published on:

Published on:

Nov 8, 2023

Nov 8, 2023

Updated:

Updated:

Updated:

Jul 17, 2024

Jul 17, 2024

Jul 17, 2024

I'm Romina Kavcic. I coach design teams on implementing design systems, optimizing design processes, and developing design strategy.

© 2022 - 2024 The Design System Guide by Romina Kavcic

© 2022 - 2024 The Design System Guide by Romina Kavcic

© 2022 - 2024 The Design System Guide by Romina Kavcic