📝 Articles
Why Federated Design Systems Keep Failing
Shaun explains that federated models often stumble because distributed ownership can create accountability gaps, poor discovery and widespread duplication when there isn’t dedicated expertise or tooling. They note that unless an organisation already has strong governance, culture and capacity for platform work, a centralised team will typically deliver value faster and prevent exponential growth of under‑used components.
Lies, damned lies, and design system adoption statistics
Dave cautions that single adoption metrics mislead: design system usage is layered, time‑sensitive and spans disciplines, so raw counts often mask compatibility, quality and maint…
📝 Articles
Why Federated Design Systems Keep Failing
Shaun explains that federated models often stumble because distributed ownership can create accountability gaps, poor discovery and widespread duplication when there isn’t dedicated expertise or tooling. They note that unless an organisation already has strong governance, culture and capacity for platform work, a centralised team will typically deliver value faster and prevent exponential growth of under‑used components.
Lies, damned lies, and design system adoption statistics
Dave cautions that single adoption metrics mislead: design system usage is layered, time‑sensitive and spans disciplines, so raw counts often mask compatibility, quality and maintenance issues. He recommends measuring outcomes—like sentiment, rebrand speed or quality audits—and defining what “adoption” actually means (minimum usage, recency, and direct vs indirect use) before reporting numbers.
How to annotate design system components for accessibility
Geri explains how accessibility annotations make component requirements explicit—covering semantics, keyboard interaction, zoom/responsive behaviour, states, labels and motion—so teams catch issues early and avoid accessibility debt at scale. They recommend embedding annotations into workflows (design kits, machine‑readable specs, CI hooks and audits) to keep design and code aligned and enable reusable, testable accessibility guidance.
Exploring Multi-Brand Systems with Tokens and Composability
Adam explores how leveraging tokens, composability, and configuration can enhance flexibility in design systems for multiple brands. By using design tokens for seamless customisation and composable slots for unique content, teams can maintain consistency while adapting components to diverse styles and layouts.
👀 Interesting Reads
Design Tokens Governance
Francesco outlines practical governance for design tokens, urging a balance where tokens feel natural to designers yet remain practical for developers. They recommend bidirectional sync (CI/CD, drift detection and audits), clear change classification and reversion rules, automation for conversions/validation, and a governance role with real authority to keep design and code aligned across platforms.
How does a design system fit into service design?
Frances describes how a design system adds value throughout the service‑design lifecycle: early involvement helps assess current reuse opportunities, embedded system designers improve front‑end patterns during discovery and testing, and system engineers support implementation and standards for pattern‑specific libraries. They recommend documenting patterns alongside the design system, using system channels to drive adoption, and balancing long‑term support with core system work so patterns remain maintainable and aligned.
Experience Platform
Sam explains that an experience platform elevates a design system into company‑wide infrastructure, connecting brand, product, content and engineering around a shared language that makes decisions predictable, teachable and scalable. They recommend embedding Design Engineering and Content Design within Experience Design, prioritising coherence and audience needs, and treating the platform as long‑term infrastructure rather than a short‑term product.
🧰 Tools / Resources
Design Tokens Visualizer
a cool little tool that can help you explore the relationships between design tokens and components in your Design System.