How to sell a design system
My one word strategy: Empathy.
After selling design systems’ methodologies within a company and to clients I’ve learned a thing or two. I’ve made the mistake of trying to impress colleagues and clients by explaining in depth how design systems work and the benefits for the product design process. This was a hard sell. I quickly realized that the hours spent creating diagram after diagram and metaphors I pondered for days were falling on deaf ears. I was trying to convey the process to people who don’t have enough design experience to get it the way I do, not to mention the terminology and high level concepts:
“It’s like having a single source of truth.”
Yes, yes it is…but,
While metaphors are a great way to explain an idea and create clarity and provide perspective about the ‘how’, the truth is (for the most part) the people on the other end of the conversation only care about the ‘why’.
So if spending time and effort on crafting the perfect metaphor is not the best spend of time, then what is?
In the words of Harvey Specter — Don’t play the odds, play the man.
Clients’ core business interests are satisfied by the outcome of your design process, not the design process itself. They care about the quality of the final product, and the return on investment.
The key is to find the value for the person you’re engaging with and to direct your attention to how your design system suits their needs.
For example:
Developers — Speak about creating robust libraries of components and specifications that will speed up the development process.
Marketers — Talk about consistent brand elements throughout.
Corporates — Point out that every (costly) online asset created was done so from scratch and probably by a different designer each time. Then hit ’em where it hurts — the bottom line.
If it’s a design team — leave that company if convincing is necessary.
Ultimately, if you aren’t getting on board with design systems approaches and methodologies, you’re going to be left behind. So the sooner you find a way to get your clients to see the light, the better.
I hope this has been even marginally useful…Good luck :)
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