Learnings from LEGO to understand Design System/Language
In the last few months, I have had several discussions with Design & Non-Design folks on Design Systems/Language.
Design system is a fairly new term for the Indian Startup ecosystem. Many organisations are building/planning to build a design system product companies are scaling.
Design System — the complete set of design standards, documentation, and principles along with the toolkit (UI patterns library and code components) to achieve those standards.
Making a small effort to simplify “Design System” using something that we all have heard of/used/enjoyed playing. A Good Design System is like building blocks or also known as LEGO. One can draw the following comparisons:
- Atomic Design: The Lego blocks that you get are the smallest pieces that can be joined to create a small component/Molecule. For example, A Search Form on an e-commerce platform comprises a search icon, placeholder text, search input, and button. Molecules can be further assembled to build complex structures.
- Finite pieces, Infinite Creativity: If you give a set of lego pieces to different people, you will see different creations that are the output of individual creativity & imagination. Similarly, the small atoms/molecules/components of a design system can be used in ’n’ number of ways by different designers to create a UX solution for different user/business problems without compromising on creativity.
- Build for familiarity: The best part about LEGO is that one can recognise by looking at a small block that it’s a part of the Lego set. Similarly, design teams should push themselves to build design system atoms that breathe product language, serve the target user group and adhere to design principles/values.
Good read on Strategy framework to shape a healthy culture around design systems by Budi Tanrim in his article Design systems: The BNARL model.
The goal of design systems should be to strike a balance between consistency and contribution.
Some good reads:
LEGO’S TRANSITION FROM BUILDING BLOCKS TO BUILDING A DESIGN LANGUAGE
Know The Magic Behind LEGO And How It Will Help You Design Better Software.
