CategoryDesign Systems

April 12, 2022 — Like many things, a design system isn’t ever a finished thing — it’s a journey. How we go about that journey can affect the things we produce along the way. Before diving in and starting to plan anything out, be clear about where the benefits and the risks might lie. Read more…

February 28, 2022 — Maintaining a design system is a lot of work. In this article, Atila Fassina shares his lessons learned and how a platform such as Backlight can help put together a series of tools to speed up your architecture setup. Read more…

January 21, 2022 — Joining a team where there are no established design practices may feel disheartening. Does this situation resonate with you? If yes, then read on — as this article is sharing the author’s advice based on his personal experience and it will show you a way (although not easy) of facing the problem in a manner that will bring other benefits, beside order and consistency. Read more…

November 17, 2021 — In this article, we’ll take a look at the best ways to handle colors in CSS today, some tips for using them in a design system, and what we can expect from our colors in the not-too-distant future. Read more…

October 7, 2019 — Design systems can improve usability, but they can also limit creativity or fall out of sync with actual products. In this article, we’ll explore how designers and developers can create more robust design systems by building a culture of collaboration. Read more…

October 1, 2019 — Design is increasingly becoming more complex. Design processes require having a tight cross-functional collaboration between all teams involved in the creation of the product. Having a shared design language empowers teams to collaborate more effectively. That’s why many companies invest in design systems. But how can we ensure that a design system actually works for a product you’re working on and improves your team’s productivity? Read more…

September 2, 2019 — Switching tools isn’t a decision to be taken lightly. Here’s a nuts-and-bolts and behind-the-scenes look at how Help Scout migrated design systems from Sketch to Figma — why we made the switch, a step-by-step walkthrough of what it entailed, and what we got out of it — a story that applies to any team considering a large-scale tool migration. Read more…

June 25, 2019 — Enter the Brand System: a shared library that defines the brand’s story, symbols, and strategy. Learn how Brand Systems can help avoid fragmentation, confusion, and exclusion within teams. Read more…

June 10, 2019 — In this article, we welcome you to take a detailed dive into the different ways of organizing styling in modern applications which often have complex interfaces and design patterns. Read more…

June 3, 2019 — The web is wonderfully diverse and unpredictable because of wonderfully diverse people shaping it. In this new series of short interviews, we talk to interesting people doing interesting work in our industry and sharing what they’ve learned. Read more…