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SystemsEngineering
Systems
Design Systems That Actually Ship and the Habits That Get Them There
Why most design systems stall after the first release, and the small habits that keep them moving.
Vlad Gavriluk
Founder, FuturA
Article takeaways
- Design systems fail at adoption, not at definition.
- Tokens are infrastructure. Components are product. Treat them differently.
- Pair every system release with a real product surface that uses it. No surface, no release.
The first version of any design system is the easy one. The hard part is getting to v3 without losing the team.
Tokens before components
Tokens are the contract between brand, design, and engineering. Get them right and components fall out cleanly. Get them wrong and every component becomes a negotiation.
Ship system releases against a real surface
We never release a system update without a product surface that uses it. Otherwise the system drifts from the product and adoption stalls.
FAQ
Common questions
How big should a design system team be?
Two to four people for a Series B-stage product. More is usually a sign the system is being treated as a product instead of as infrastructure.
Have a project in mind?