[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":109},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-en-design-systems-that-work":3},{"id":4,"title":5,"body":6,"cover":93,"date":94,"description":95,"draft":96,"extension":97,"locale":98,"meta":99,"navigation":100,"path":101,"seo":102,"stem":103,"tags":104,"__hash__":108},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fen\u002Fdesign-systems-that-work.md","Design systems that actually work",{"type":7,"value":8,"toc":87},"minimark",[9,13,18,21,27,44,48,55,62,84],[10,11,12],"p",{},"Design systems have a divided reputation. To some they're order and speed; to others a corset\nthat irons every idea flat. After a handful of projects, I'm convinced the difference isn't in\nthe system itself, but in the attitude you build it with.",[14,15,17],"h2",{"id":16},"a-system-should-carry-not-chain","A system should carry, not chain",[10,19,20],{},"The best design system takes the same recurring decisions off my plate, so I have energy left\nfor the special ones. Spacing, color, type sizes — none of that needs reinventing every time.",[22,23,24],"blockquote",{},[10,25,26],{},"A good system makes the obvious easy and the exceptional possible.",[10,28,29,30,34,35,39,40,43],{},"The foundation is ",[31,32,33],"strong",{},"tokens",": named values for color, typography, spacing and radius. They're the\nlanguage the whole product speaks. Change a token and everything that uses it changes —\nconsistently, in one place. What matters is that tokens carry meaning, not just values:\n",[36,37,38],"code",{},"color-surface"," rather than ",[36,41,42],{},"grey-100",". That keeps the system legible even when the values shift\nlater.",[14,45,47],{"id":46},"components-and-documentation","Components and documentation",[10,49,50,51,54],{},"On top of the tokens sit ",[31,52,53],{},"components",". Here I'm careful to leave enough room: sensible\ndefaults, but doors open for the special case. A component that allows exactly one look gets\nworked around — and then the system quietly falls apart from the inside.",[10,56,57,58,61],{},"What's most often underrated is the ",[31,59,60],{},"documentation",". A system nobody understands effectively\ndoesn't exist. For me that includes:",[63,64,65,72,78],"ul",{},[66,67,68,71],"li",{},[31,69,70],{},"The why, not just the how"," — the intent behind a decision",[66,73,74,77],{},[31,75,76],{},"Examples in real context",", not isolated buttons",[66,79,80,83],{},[31,81,82],{},"Clear boundaries"," — when to use a component, and when deliberately not to",[10,85,86],{},"A design system is never finished. It lives with the product, grows, and sometimes lets go. That\nsense of stewardship is exactly what separates a system gathering dust from one a team can lean\non. When it works, you don't notice it — you just build faster, calmer and more coherently. And\nthat's precisely the goal.",{"title":88,"searchDepth":89,"depth":89,"links":90},"",2,[91,92],{"id":16,"depth":89,"text":17},{"id":46,"depth":89,"text":47},null,"2022-07-20","How a design system can carry creativity rather than constrain it — through tokens, components, and documentation people actually use.",false,"md","en",{},true,"\u002Fblog\u002Fen\u002Fdesign-systems-that-work",{"title":5,"description":95},"blog\u002Fen\u002Fdesign-systems-that-work",[105,106,107],"Design","Systems","Workflow","VU6h3GgH9WnhcqulIEaXaCWIYyVsg1MXLzWbifM6qfo",1781691287838]