The article explores various real-world design systems and the resources that can help teams build effective systems of their own. It profiles systems from companies like Nord, Workbench, Olympic Brand, and Audi to highlight best practices. Nord’s system focuses on accessibility and naming conventions. Workbench provides comprehensive live examples to ensure proper component usage. Olympic Brand deals with branding and multi-lingual challenges. Audi uses visual examples of dos and don’ts.
The article then discusses useful topics like naming conventions, accessibility, brand expression, motion, and enterprise design systems. It recommends resources on these subjects from sources like Ardena Gonzalez Flahavin, AdHoc, and IBM. Salesforce’s Kinetics system demonstrates how to incorporate animation. Adam Fard’s overview explains how enterprise systems maintain consistency across large organizations.
Other useful resources covered include Figma kits from Design Systems For Figma, guidelines for data visualization from Shopify and Culture Amp, and suggestions for measuring a system’s impact from Jules Mahe. The article aims to equip teams with inspiration and guidance to develop design systems that maximize usability, consistency and team efficiency.
