10 things to do before starting a Design System
By: Jovan Rocanov
Tags: Design Thinking, Product Design, UI, UX, Design Systems

10 things to do before starting a Design System

Once upon a time in ancient Greece lived a young, ambitious design director named Jason. His company, Colchis, was a promising and rapidly growing business amidst a digital transformation. Jason believed deeply that setting up extensive standards for design elements — the building blocks of Colchis’ digital products — with a guiding set of principles, was the only way for his company to undergo this evolution. In other words, he believed Colchis needed a comprehensive design system.

Unfortunately, his ideas didn’t resonate with the newly appointed VP of Digital Transformation, Pelias. Pelias was an old-school boss. He had witnessed the extinction of countless tech trends in his career, and from his perspective, design systems were just another temporary fashion.

The Golden Fleece Quest was known in the marketing realm as a metaphor for building a top digital product. Pelias challenged Jason to get the Golden Fleece as a manner of proving the value of a design system. In return, should he be successful, Pelias would step down and Jason would become his successor.

Jason was aware that he was not against a single person, but a whole mindset. Pelias had the support of Zeus, an authoritarian CEO of the tech giant Olympus (which had recently acquired Colchis). Zeus was a living leadership legend and his employees worshiped him like a god.

Jason, however, was not alone in his quest. He managed to have Hera on his side. She was one of the rare female CTOs in the corporate world, and she didn’t particularly like Pelias. There were murmurs that Pelias’ appointment was against her will.

Jason knew time was of the essence. He was already behind other Olympus sub-brands that had developed design systems. While they were not direct competitors, their disruptive strategies could soon overpower Colchis operations. He needed to act quickly.

During one sleepless night, on his artisan, hand-made Kanban board, he laid out a preparation strategy in 10 steps:

1. Primary motive

Determining a need for a design system

To make people believe in things they’ve never seen before, you have to be a true believer yourself. But first, determine if your faith is genuine. Design systems are hype. Are you trying to impress somebody? What is behind your drive to start one? What’s your primary motive? Unfortunately, companies are not always clear about their motives. Sometimes the herd mentality drives their decisions. That never ends well. Why do you need a design system? Do you have or plan an umbrella brand with a bulk of digital products that require constant optimization and care? In that case, design systems are incredible tools. They save money, they save time, they support brand awareness, they reinforce team collaboration, and they minimize waste. If run properly, of course. Besides the rational reasons, there should not be anything else interfering with your judgment. If you are not able to clearly define the need for a design system, better not to start with one.

2. Subject matter

Understanding business and brand

Your business and brand are the reason for the existence of your design system. Not the other way around. They are the subject matter. You need to invest time to learn about rules, standards, and principles that shape them. In ideal world business requirements and brand, assets would be waiting for you. However, in reality, you need to work smart to get them. Enterprises are not built in a day, and not in a linear way. Corporate legacy could be messy, confusing and counterintuitive. Business units’ activities often overlap, sometimes even compete with each other. Set up your expectations accordingly. Learn the business and brand core by heart, which will make you more resilient. Without proper knowledge of the subject matter, your design system will turn into a meaningless yet expensive endeavour. The world doesn’t need another empty suite.

3. Vertical alignment

Advocating the need to the senior leadership

It’s not what you know, but who you know. Building a design system is a delicate operation. It requires a lot of resources. That means support from the top. Management theory has a name for that — vertical alignment. Leaders all the way up in the food chain should embrace the design system idea as an essential part of the digital transformation. They should be aware that the digital transformation is not just a set of organizational changes but a cause. It demands a reliable system in order to be accomplished. If there is no broader understanding of the design system value in your organization, it’ll face obstruction and resistance at every step. Design systems deserve celebrity status. They crave exposure. Approach leaders and decision-makers wherever and whenever possible. Spread the story. Vouch for your guy. Use all available lobbying strategies and tactics. Lack of support from the senior leadership will slow down your efforts and you’ll be doomed to scratch from the bottom of the resource barrel.

4. Horizontal alignment

Breaking down the silo work

Having a couple of C-suite folks on your side doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re seen for success. If your idea is not executed well, it is going to fall flat. You need to engage all the players in order to win that game. Management theory has a name for that as well — horizontal alignment. Established companies and fast-growing start-ups are usually complex enterprises, and silo mentality is a natural occurrence. Teams often do not speak with each other. It sometimes even seems that they live their own lives and exist for their own benefit. Terminate that legacy. Show the value of a design system as a collaborative tool. Root for a fair partnership. Initiate ongoing communication and insist on transparent working relationships. Trust is the most valuable currency you have to offer in joined efforts. Remember that collaboration trumps competition. Let them know that after all, we are in this together.

5. Vehicle

Understanding technology

Technology is your vehicle. It will take you from a point A to a point B, but don’t expect that it will do your job. Technology can’t organize a journey, decide on a direction, create a road map, or recruit a team (people hire people, right?). However, it is obvious that with a faulty vehicle you can’t go far and the whole journey will end even before it began. So, what do you need to know when choosing a vehicle? First, apply common sense. Years of marketing persuasion affected our ability to make unbiased decisions. The market is bursting with almighty tech unicorns and their magic features. Do you believe in unicorns? Do you need them? Define what you need and stick to it. Second, always look for a stable yet flexible solution. Tech cycles are getting shorter and shorter. That imposes stress on your team and your budget. You can’t rely on something you can’t quickly update and upgrade. You need a vehicle flexible enough to keep up with the industry pace and stable enough to endure an engine replacement while you are driving.

6. Fuel

Enabling data supply

Running a design system is an ongoing journey with a lot of ups and downs. Unfortunately, it’s not enough just to have a vehicle. You will need fuel. Plenty of it. Without a consistent fuel supply, you won’t be able to keep up the desired pace and your self-confidence will be hit hard. What’s your fuel and why is it so important? Data. Data is your fuel. Relevant and up-to-date data points can help you better understand your consumer, your market, your product, and, accordingly, your own design system. Plan and execute the research strategy thoroughly. Select testing methods that will equip you with the most relevant and up-to-date information. High-quality datasets come with a cost. Explain the value and be vocal that data mining is not a nice-to-have but a must-have activity. Times when people banked on their gut feeling, inherited wisdom, or the maker’s will are gone for good.

7. Direction

Creating a journey map

No one goes on a journey without knowing where they are headed to. But what does direction mean and what role does it play in an ongoing venture where the point is not to arrive? Try not to take the term literally. It is less a route to reach the imaginary destination and more a guide to maintain the journey itself. Think about your main design system goal: to launch it and keep it alive. So, what do you need to accomplish that goal? You need a journey map. A visual representation of your design system quest that will shed light on every stage and step of it. Since design systems depend on data, and datasets constantly evolve, your journey map should be flexible and open for updates. Flexibility will help you to overcome inevitable challenges faster and plan your activities with more precision. And last but not least, with the journey map in place you’ll be able to set ground for the overall working process.

8. Process

Establishing a working process

Process is a set of steps you need to take to accomplish your goal. Without a firm working process your team will be reduced to a bunch of individuals applying their own mental models and work habits. It is, again, the silo mentality, this time at the team member level. Most organizations go with the flow and rely on best practices. Is that a good approach? Before rushing to apply some of the trendy stuff out there, think first what you want to achieve. Do you need to conceive of an idea or execute it? You can’t use the same method for every step. One size doesn’t fit all. Blindly embracing industry standards is as dangerous as not having any. Tailor the process to your needs. Identify necessary steps and find the appropriate framework for each of them. Also, have in mind that the working process is made for people. If it doesn’t match the mindset of your team then there is no point instilling it. Teammates are your best advocates, if they are not excited about it, it means you’re chasing the wrong rabbit.

9. Mindset

Forming a core team

If you had to name a single thing to attribute your team’s success to, what would it be? Most people would agree: a shared mindset. A mindset is a collection of attitudes. They shape our views and impact how we interact with other people. Mindset has immense importance in the workplace. Mindset trumps skill set. Again, you don’t need a bunch of highly skilled individuals that can’t work with or understand each other. Still, many leaders prioritize a skill set when they gather a team. Yes, skills are important, but they can be learned. On the other hand, mindset traits like empathy, the ability to listen, curiosity, and openness are hard to acquire. They are essential for the success of your team. The real star of the shared mindset is a sense of humour. It is unfortunate that humour hasn’t traditionally been welcomed in the workplace. The premise was that the work always had to be taken seriously. A sense of humour gives you numerous advantages. It helps team members create deeper bonds and support each other. It subsides fear and insecurity. It keeps egos at bay. It performs like stress relief and bolster best ideas. Teams with a great sense of humor engage better, grow faster, and work smarter.

10. Focus

Staying in focus

Black holes colloquially stand for places where things, especially money, disappear without trace. The design system can quickly turn into one if your team is not focused. Remember, your business and brand are the reason for the existence of your design system. Not the other way around. Perfectionism is the archfoe of focus. Black holes feed on perfectionism. Teammates can infinitely tweak design system components, secretly in love with their own babies. Passion is a commendable and desirable trait, but obsession is not. Learn how to differentiate them. There is absolutely no room for obsession in the workplace. Define when done is done, and when enough is enough. No matter how much money and time you have, perfectionism will suck all your resources. Shout MVP (Minimum Viable Product) as a code word whenever you feel that your team is losing focus.