Shopee Design Talk Plus: Building a Design System is a Learning Journey
Building a design system is, indeed, a learning journey. In Shopee Design’s most recent webinar, UI/UX designer Chenmu detailed the lessons learned in our journey to developing a cohesive design language system for Shopee.
Chenmu first set the scene with a brief prologue of how our design system started and evolved since 2017, before diving into the various challenges that the team frequently encounters. Some of these challenges include having to design for multiple brands, features, markets, etc.; all of which requires highly distinctive user experience and interface.
The Lessons
In the second half of the sharing, Chenmu revealed the critical takeaways from building Shopee Design System. Here are just a few notable ones:
1. Establish the right team.
Forming the right team to build a design system is extremely crucial. The goal is to achieve efficient implementation while ensuring that the team working on it is not too detached from the daily design problems other designers face. This would grant them a bird’s eye view of every style and component of the product, thus, making way for a more uniformed asset library.
2. Respect existing design.
When implementing guidelines, be careful not to break the designs users are used to, but to align the new ones with their existing habits. This is to avoid forcing users to re-learn how to use the interface.
The goal of building a design system isn’t to revamp the entire product. Instead, it is to speed up future design processes and making it easier for designers to follow. After all, having a design system would be pointless if it was difficult to execute.
3. Prioritise usability.
With rules and guidelines in place, many would wonder how one can balance consistency and creativity. Here, Chenmu revealed that consistency shouldn’t be the primary goal — good user experience should. The rules exist not to restrict designers, but to empower them.
4. Adopt a service mindset.
Building an outstanding design system requires a service mindset. Designers should shift their focus from seeking ways to create better guidelines and component libraries to discovering and fulfilling designers’ needs. The key is in staying humble and thinking from the perspectives of new designers who have not designed for the product before.
With that, Chenmu ended his sharing with the usual Q&A session. We’d like to extend a special thanks to him and the HR team for making this webinar possible. And of course, not forgetting the immense support we received from you, the audience. Thank you for having us, and we look forward to hosting you in future sessions.
Did you attend our webinar? Let us know what you think to help us improve!
Shopee is the leading e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia and Taiwan. Shopee connects shoppers, brands and sellers across Asia and other fast-growing markets, empowering anyone to buy and sell anywhere and at any time.
Shopee offers an easy, secure, and engaging experience that is enjoyed by millions of people daily. It offers a wide product assortment, supported by integrated payments and logistics, as well as popular entertainment features tailored for each market. Shopee is also a key contributor to the region’s digital economy with a firm commitment to helping brands and entrepreneurs succeed in e-commerce.
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