Be realistic about the capacity your team has for a project of this scale. Freelance help might be needed to ship a design system because of the amount of work involved in the project.

Breaking your design system into parts might help. The first step might be a visual refresh that makes the current system look new, and the second part could be building the new design system from the inside out.

Compromise is key. Sometimes working towards achieving the larger plan might mean shipping parts of the design system that are less than ideal.

Sitting down one to one with the designer responsible for the design of specific screens was a beneficial part of Femke’s process.

Remember, it’s not always about consistency, efficiency might become the priority at different times during the project.

Documentation might be a work in progress for a while. It can be difficult to create concise documentation before the design system has been comprehensively tried and tested. Through use, you will find the errors in the system. Ask and encourage others to give you feedback too, as other designers might use different elements more often.

01.02 – Check in

04.37 – Design Systems

08.12 – The team

12.40 – When and where to draw the line

15.35 – Different approaches to developing a new design system

26.57 – QA and review process