Devoxx Greece 2024 - Design Systems: Two Truths and a Lie by Avra Alevropoulou & Stelios Kamnakis

Discover the secrets to building a successful design system that aligns design and development teams, improves collaboration, and boosts efficiency, with real-world examples and expert insights from Avra Alevropoulou and Stelios Kamnakis.

Key takeaways
  • Align design and development teams closely to improve collaboration and efficiency.
  • Establish a dedicated team to maintain and improve the design system.
  • Use tools like Storybook to document and showcase components, and make it easier for developers to find what they need.
  • Automate testing and reduce testing time by sharding and optimizing test suites.
  • Use TypeScript to improve code maintainability and scalability.
  • Create a design system that is easy to understand and use, and provides clear guidelines and components.
  • Prioritize alignment, visibility, and ownership to ensure the design system is used consistently across the product.
  • Use evergreen components and rename design components for better discoverability.
  • Focus on developer experience and productivity by providing useful resources and tools.
  • Document everything well and efficiently to ensure knowledge sharing and reducing knowledge silos.
  • Create a clear process for developers to contribute to the design system and provide feedback.
  • Use consistent naming conventions and organization to make it easier for developers to find what they need.
  • Use tools like PMPM to improve installation times and package management.
  • Continuously revamp and improve the design system to ensure it stays up-to-date and relevant.
  • Use Playwright instead of Puppeteer for faster testing.
  • Create a design system that is scalable, maintainable, and easy to use.
  • Provide support and resources for designers and developers to successfully use the design system.
  • Continuously gather feedback from engineering team and designers to improve the design system.
  • Create a design system that is accessible, usable, and meets accessibility standards.