02 — Design Systems
Design
Systems
A design system is infrastructure. When it's built well, it becomes invisible — the team just moves faster. When it's built badly, it becomes the thing everyone routes around, maintaining two realities in parallel: what the system says and what the product actually does.
We've built systems for teams of three and teams of three hundred. The principles don't change. The governance does. What matters is that the system serves the people who use it, not the other way round.
We approach systems as a product: shipped incrementally, maintained actively, versioned with intention. Not a big-bang deliverable that's out of date the day it launches.
What's included
- 01Token Architecture
The most consequential layer of any design system, and the most frequently underbuilt. We design token hierarchies that separate primitive values from semantic decisions — what the values mean in context. A system built on sound token architecture survives a rebrand, a dark mode addition, or a visual refresh without a complete rebuild.
- 02Component Library
Components designed for engineers: predictable APIs, composable structures, clear prop contracts, and consistent behaviour under edge conditions. We build for maintainability, not for the demo — fewer components, each doing its job without ambiguity, and a foundation that extends gracefully rather than accumulating patches.
- 03Figma Library
The design-side mirror of the coded library. Auto-layout components that match the behaviour of their code counterparts. Variable modes that enable instant theme switching. A structure that lets designers work at velocity without drifting from what can actually be built. Documentation embedded in the file itself.
- 04Documentation
Written for the people who will use it at 11pm before a deadline. Usage guidelines that explain the decision, not just the rule. Do/don't examples grounded in real product scenarios. The kind of documentation that actually gets read, and actually prevents the mistakes it was written to prevent.
- 05Contribution Workflow
Systems die when contributions slow to a trickle or flood in without structure. We design governance that keeps the system alive: proposal templates, review criteria, clear ownership, and an escalation path for contentious decisions. Lightweight enough that contributors want to use it, rigorous enough that the system stays coherent.
- 06Migration & Adoption
The work that follows the build. Auditing existing components against the new system. Writing migration guides that reduce the activation energy for adoption. Training the team members who will carry it forward. Finding the internal advocates who can sustain the system after we leave.
04 — Start a Conversation
Most projects start with a short conversation. Tell us what you're building and we'll tell you honestly whether we're the right fit.
Get in touch.