A design system is a centralised source of truth for an organisation's digital design components. When a design system is adopted by all it ensures a consistent user experience.
A design system includes all design elements; for example user interface (UI) components, guidelines, typography, brand colour palette, icons, layouts and UX best practices.
A Design System is the centralised source of truth for UI components, style guides and user experience (UX) best practices. It is used by help web teams to build consistent and scalable systems.
Modular design
Projects grow over time, new business opportunities demand new features, new team members join, previous team members leave and internal collaboration can become harder as sub-teams develop their own methodologies.
Before long what appears on screen is not fit for purpose and effects usability, structure, visual design and ultimately the user experience is degraded. Modular software design divides a system into smaller reusable parts (modules) that are interchangeable and scalable.
The business benefits of a Design System
Consistent user experience Design systems introduce a highly structured and organised modular approach to user interfaces with guidelines for a consistent visual language.
Creates a good first impression Design systems ensure that all content and features are aligned with well defined standards which produces a credible and effective user experience.
Maintain a strong brand presence Design systems ensure that as new content or services are added, they align with the brand and do not degrade the customers trust and impression of a organisation.
User centred organisations with design systems
These user centred organisations adopted modular design system approach as they realised that their design and usability weren’t scaling as quickly as their businesses and was affecting the user experience.
Microsoft
Microsoft's design system
AirBnB
AirBnB's design system
Google
Google's design system
Gov.uk
Gov.uk's design system
AXA
AXA's design system
Create and maintain a consistent user experience
By creating a consistent, scalable and futureproofed web experience we keep the user experience at the forefront. When new business opportunities arise or new team members join they already have a single source of truth to ensure any new content or feature goes live in alignment with the defined standards and visual brand language.
