Last Wednesday I went to a design event in Tartu about design systems. Below are some of my notes from the event. Thanks, Mobi Lab people for organizing it.
Design Systems in digital product agencies
Elmo Soomets & Lauris Kruusamäe (Mobi Lab)
At Mobi Lab's presentation, the importance of having a robust design system was emphasized, highlighting how it simplifies handling multiple clients. By implementing a systematic approach, they have successfully reduced development costs and saved time.
Key benefits:
- Efficiency: Design systems allow for rapid adjustments tailored to different clients, minimizing redundant work.
- Consistency: A unified approach prevents discrepancies between designers' and developers' interpretations, which was a common issue when relying on gut feelings and individual perspectives.
By transitioning to design systems, they have overcome the miscommunications that previously plagued their projects, ensuring a cohesive and efficient workflow.
Design Systems in software as a service (SaaS) companies
Margit Urva & Mariann Tapfer (Pipedrive)
Pipedrive's presentation dived into the world of design tokens, showcasing their tokenization process with over 1000 design tokens categorized into various types such as colors, sizes, and spacing. The majority of their tokens are implemented in code but some things, like animation tokens, are only available in Figma and not in code.
Highlights:
- Theming: Tokenization facilitates theming options like light and dark modes, along with customization for enterprise clients.
- Alignment: Consistent naming conventions in design and code enable efficient reverse engineering when needed.
Their approach underscores the importance of alignment between design and development, ensuring a seamless user experience across different themes and accessibility standards.
Design Systems within the public sector
Sigrid Kontus (RIA) & Martin Õunap (TEHIK)
The public sector's journey with design systems revealed valuable lessons from past mistakes. Estonia's Tax Board authority initially struggled with its design system, due to a lack of defined tools and processes. Now they are working on a new one called Veera.
Lessons learned:
- Governance and Community: People were afraid to use the old system, and the main reason for that because they found it easier to develop things by themselves than depend on something else because there was no one to maintain the system. Without proper governance and a collaborative community, the former system didn't succeed. There was a lack of experience in creating collaboratively.
- New Initiative: The current effort involves creating a new design system, supported by extensive documentation and public accessibility. The renewed focus on community-driven development and comprehensive documentation aims to foster better adoption and usage across various ministries.
Panel Discussion: Key Themes and Insights
Defining success:
Success metrics for design systems vary by organization according to their needs. Common indicators include:
- Usage by different teams
- Flexibility and adaptability of the system
- Consistency and saved resources
For example, for the Veera team promoting system usage across ministries is a crucial success factor at this point.
Importance of processes:
All speakers emphasized the significance of having defined processes:
- Avoid skipping documentation to expedite development
- Processes should be adaptable based on feedback and needs
Pipedrive, for example, has a detailed process involving 8-9 steps for design and development. They are hoping to shorten this in the near future.
Documentation and guidelines:
Effective documentation is essential but should be concise:
- Provide enough guidelines to understand design elements without overwhelming details
- Use tools like Zeroheight (Veera) and Storybook (Pipedrive) to link design components and development documentation
Fostering community and collaboration:
Building a collaborative community remains a challenge:
- Demonstrating value encourages repeated usage and collaboration
- Advocacy and addressing issues collectively strengthen the system