When your design system fails — HeyDesigner

You could create components that strike the perfect balance between reuse and context sensitivity. But defining the components of your design system is just the first step. It has to make its way into the product. If it doesn’t, a design system is like a language with no extant literature or seminal texts.

Marissa Christy outlines the reasons why your design system might struggle:

  1. The redesign isn’t prioritized
  2. The tech stack is changing
  3. Maintenance takes discipline

But she also offers advice for counteracting these forces:

  1. Get buy-in from the whole team
  2. Prioritize a lightweight re-skin on older parts of the product
  3. Treat a design system like any other product project: start small
  4. Don’t wait for others. Lead by example.
  5. Finally, don’t compare yourself to others on the internet
When your design system fails — HeyDesigner

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