What is a
design system?
A design system is a series of components that can be reused in different combinations. Design systems allows organisations to manage design at scale. They can facilitate collaboration between designers, developers, and other stakeholders, and help organisations scale their design efforts as they grow and add new products and services.
Why does our organisation need a design system?
Overall, a design system can help an organisation create more cohesive, consistent, and efficient products and services, whilst also supporting collaboration and sustainability efforts.
Consistency
A design system helps ensure that all of an organisation's products and services have a consistent look and feel, which can improve the user experience and make the organisation's brand more recognisable.
Efficiency
By establishing a set of design principles and guidelines, a design system can streamline the design process and reduce the time and resources required to create new products and features.
Scalability
Without the need for significant reinvestment, a design system enables an organisation to scale its design efforts easily as it expands and introduces new products and services.
Collaboration
A design system can facilitate collaboration between designers, developers, and other stakeholders, helping to ensure that everyone is working towards a shared set of goals.
Sustainability
By creating a design system, an organisation can ensure that its products and services are designed with sustainability in mind, and can more easily update them to meet evolving sustainability goals.
Testimonial
Greg is an exceptional Design System Designer who created a comprehensive and efficient system with a logical multi-brand strategy. He provided user-friendly documentation and the latest integrations, which made implementation seamless. Greg's exceptional skills, attention to detail, and passion for creating elegant designs make him an invaluable asset.
Thomas Michalak Creative Director of Graphite Digital
How I can help
If your organisation has never had a design system before it probably means that your product team do not have much experience in this area and would benefit from some outside collaboration.
Leading
I can take a leading role in establishing the organisation’s first design system. This includes defining the design system’s principles and guidelines and establishing processes for using the design system in design and development work.
Education
I am able to provide training and support to the product team to ensure that they have the knowledge and skills needed to use the design system effectively. This may involve providing workshops and training sessions, as well as ongoing support as the team becomes more familiar with the design system.
Creating
I have the ability to work with the product team to create the design system, including designing and building design patterns and components and creating documentation and other resources to support the use of the design system.
Documenting
I can help the organisation create comprehensive documentation for its design system, including guidelines, best practices, and examples of how to use the design system in design and development work. This documentation can help ensure that the design system is understood and used consistently throughout the organisation.
Collaborating with development teams
I have the capacity to collaborate with potential development teams to introduce them to the ways of working with a design system. This may involve providing training and support to help them understand the design system and how to use it in their work, as well as establishing processes for using the design system in their development workflows.
Overall, as a design system consultancy, I can provide expertise, guidance, and support to help an organisation establish its first design system and ensure that it is used effectively by the product team and any potential developer teams.
If your organisation has never had a design system before it probably means that your product team do not have much experience in this area and would benefit from some outside collaboration.
Leading
I can take a leading role in establishing the organisation’s first design system. This includes defining the design system’s principles and guidelines and establishing processes for using the design system in design and development work.
Education
I am able to provide training and support to the product team to ensure that they have the knowledge and skills needed to use the design system effectively. This may involve providing workshops and training sessions, as well as ongoing support as the team becomes more familiar with the design system.
Creating
I have the ability to work with the product team to create the design system, including designing and building design patterns and components and creating documentation and other resources to support the use of the design system.
Documenting
I can help the organisation create comprehensive documentation for its design system, including guidelines, best practices, and examples of how to use the design system in design and development work. This documentation can help ensure that the design system is understood and used consistently throughout the organisation.
Collaborating with development teams
I have the capacity to collaborate with potential development teams to introduce them to the ways of working with a design system. This may involve providing training and support to help them understand the design system and how to use it in their work, as well as establishing processes for using the design system in their development workflows.
Overall, as a design system consultancy, I can provide expertise, guidance, and support to help an organisation establish its first design system and ensure that it is used effectively by the product team and any potential developer teams.
What you’ll get
Design system library
The home of your design system, the design system library is a central location for all of the elements of the organisation’s design system. It typically includes a URL that displays the full range of components, from the smallest atoms to complete templates, as well as a set of guidelines, an icon library, a prototyping playground, and documentation on how to use everything in production applications. The design system library serves as a comprehensive resource for designers and developers to access and utilise in their work.
Common tokens:
Pilot project
A pilot project is a product (or more) that is designed to be a proof-of-concept for the effectiveness of the organisation’s new design system. It can be a rebuild of an existing product or a completely new one. Pilot projects are a useful way to test and refine the design system, and can help ensure that it is well-suited to the needs of the organisation and its users.
Coaching & documentation
The design system’s first version is just the beginning! I’ll provide your team with everything they need to build upon and extend the design system, including coaching and comprehensive documentation. This will help ensure that the design system is used consistently and effectively throughout the organisation.
Specialities
Tokens studio
While design software like Figma can be helpful in controlling style creation, it has its limitations. Tokens studio provides a more granular level of control over a range of design options, including border radius, spacer units, semantic colours, and typography styles. All produced tokens can also be pushed to a code base ready for the dev team to utilise. As a design system specialist, I can integrate this feature into your organisation's design system and provide training on how to use it effectively.
Supernova
Supernova is a powerful platform that helps organisations build, mature, and scale their design systems with ease. From comprehensive documentation to efficient design system management, it is the ideal end-to-end solution that grows with your design system. As a design system specialist, I can help you create a design system that seamlessly integrates with Supernova, becoming a single source of truth for designers and developers. Together, we can ensure that your design system is well-organised, efficient, and effective.
