Question 1

What is a design system and why do I need one?

Accepted Answer

A design system is a comprehensive library of reusable components, styles, and guidelines ensuring visual and functional consistency across all products. Core components: Typography system (font families, sizes, weights, line heights for headings, body, captions), Color palette (primary, secondary, accent, neutral colors with semantic meanings), Spacing scale (consistent margins/padding: 4px, 8px, 16px, 32px, 64px), Components library (buttons, inputs, cards, modals with all states: default, hover, active, disabled), Design tokens (CSS variables storing design decisions for easy updates). Why essential: Speeds up design/development (no reinventing buttons each time, copy-paste components), ensures consistency (prevents '15 button styles across website' chaos), scales efficiently (add new pages using existing system vs starting from scratch), improves collaboration (designers and developers speak same language with shared documentation). When to create: Starting new product/brand (set foundation before building), redesigning existing product (document current state then evolve systematically), team of 3+ designers/devs (consistency becomes critical), building multi-platform (web + mobile need shared design language). Small projects can skip formal system but maintain basic consistency (choose 2 fonts, 5 colors, 1 button style and stick to them).

Question 2

How do I organize typography hierarchy in my design system?

Accepted Answer

Use systematic type scale approach (6-8 text styles maximum): H1 Heading (48-64px) - Page hero titles, main landing page headline, used 1x per page max. H2 Heading (36-48px) - Section titles, major content dividers, 2-3x per page. H3 Heading (24-32px) - Subsection titles, card headers, 3-5x per page. H4-H6 (18-24px) - Minor headings, use sparingly if needed. Body Large (18-20px) - Intro paragraphs, prominent copy, pulls attention to key content. Body (16px) - Default text size, main content, readable at any distance—WCAG standard minimum. Body Small (14px) - Supporting text, image captions, metadata. Caption/Helper (12px) - Form hints, fine print, timestamps—don't go smaller (accessibility issues). Type scale formula: Choose base size (16px), multiply by ratio (1.25 = minor third, 1.333 = perfect fourth, 1.5 = perfect fifth, 1.618 = golden ratio) for each level. Example with 1.333 ratio: 16px × 1.333 = 21px, 21px × 1.333 = 28px, 28px × 1.333 = 37px, 37px × 1.333 = 49px. Rounding for cleaner values: 49→48px, 37→36px, 28→28px, 21→20px. Font pairing: Use 1-2 font families max (more creates chaos), pair serif heading + sans-serif body (classic) or bold sans heading + regular sans body (modern), vary weight instead of font family (Poppins Regular, Poppins SemiBold, Poppins Bold). Line height: Headings = 1.2-1.3× font size (tight), body text = 1.5-1.6× (readable), small text = 1.4× (balanced). Implement: Save as CSS variables, create Figma/Sketch text styles, document when to use each level.

Question 3

What spacing system should I use (4px, 8px grid)?

Accepted Answer

Most popular: 8px grid system (used by Google Material Design, Apple Human Interface Guidelines): Base unit = 8px, all measurements in multiples: 8px, 16px, 24px, 32px, 40px, 48px, 56px, 64px, 72px, 80px. Why 8: divisible by 2 and 4 (creates consistent half/quarter values), scales cleanly to higher-density displays (2x, 3x retina), large enough for touch targets (44-48px iOS, 48px Android), small enough for fine-tuned spacing. Usage guidelines: XS spacing (4-8px) - tight elements like icon-to-text, inline badges, compact lists. SM spacing (12-16px) - default element padding, list item gaps, form field spacing. MD spacing (24-32px) - section padding, card spacing, content block margins. LG spacing (48-64px) - major section dividers, generous whitespace, hero padding. XL spacing (80-120px) - page-level sections, dramatic whitespace for emphasis. Alternative: 4px base (more granular, used by Atlassian, Shopify) allows 4px, 8px, 12px, 16px, 20px, 24px. Choose 4px if: need tight spacing options (dense interfaces, data tables), designing for text-heavy content. How to implement: CSS variables: --spacing-xs: 4px, --spacing-sm: 8px, --spacing-md: 16px, --spacing-lg: 32px, --spacing-xl: 64px. Grid overlay: design tools like Figma have 8px grid overlay to align elements. Consistency rule: avoid arbitrary values (never use 15px, 23px, 37px—stick to system multiples), creates predictable layouts, easier to maintain, developers can memorize system.

Question 4

How many button variations should my design system include?

Accepted Answer

Minimal but complete button library (12-15 total variants): By priority (3 types): Primary button (highest emphasis) - main CTA, one per screen max (e.g., 'Buy Now', 'Sign Up', 'Submit'), uses brand primary color, solid fill. Secondary button (medium emphasis) - secondary actions, 2-3 per screen (e.g., 'Learn More', 'Cancel'), uses outline or subtle fill. Tertiary/Text button (low emphasis) - minor actions, navigation (e.g., 'Skip', 'View Details'), text-only or minimal styling. By size (3 sizes): Large (48-56px height) - hero CTAs, mobile-first designs, touch-friendly, desktop landing pages. Medium (40-44px height) - default size, most common use case, forms and content areas. Small (32-36px height) - compact interfaces, tables, toolbars, secondary actions. By state (4 states per button): Default - resting state, how button appears initially. Hover - mouse over feedback (desktop only), usually darker shade or subtle animation. Active/Pressed - click feedback, brief state during tap/click, even darker or scale down slightly. Disabled - greyed out, shows unavailable action, usually 40% opacity with no interaction. Total combinations: 3 types × 3 sizes × 4 states = 36 total design specs, but only need to document 12-15 unique designs (states follow consistent rules). Special buttons (optional): Icon-only (32×32px square, for toolbars/mobile), Icon + text (icon on left, commonly used), Loading state (spinner replaces text during submission), Destructive (red for 'Delete', 'Cancel Account' actions). What NOT to include: 10+ color variations (confuses hierarchy), rounded + square + pill in same system (pick one corner radius and stick to it), drastically different styles by section (inconsistent user experience).

Question 5

Should I create my design system in Figma, code, or both?

Accepted Answer

Ideal: maintain design system in BOTH design tool (Figma/Sketch) and code (CSS/React) with single source of truth: Figma/Design tool version: Used by designers for prototyping, contains all visual components (buttons, cards, inputs), includes color styles, text styles, component variants, shared across team via library, updated weekly as designs evolve. Code version (CSS/React components): Used by developers for building, contains same visual specs as design file, includes interactive states (hover, focus, disabled), includes accessibility attributes (ARIA labels, keyboard navigation), version-controlled in Git, updated as features ship. Why both: Designers work faster in visual tools (Figma) than writing code, developers can't use Figma components directly in production (need actual HTML/CSS/React), maintaining both ensures design-dev consistency (no 'designers created X but devs built Y' disconnect). Sync strategies: Design tokens approach (define colors, spacing, typography in JSON file, auto-generate CSS variables AND Figma styles from same source using tools like Style Dictionary), regular audits (quarterly compare Figma library to production code, document differences, prioritize fixes), component library tools (use Storybook for code components, link to Figma files in documentation). Single source of truth decision: Design-led teams (startups, agencies) = Figma is source of truth, devs implement designs precisely. Engineering-led teams (B2B SaaS, internal tools) = code is source of truth, designers use code component specs. Balanced teams = design tokens JSON is source of truth, both Figma and code sync to it. Small teams (<5 people): Figma only is OK if devs directly translate designs, minimal abstraction. Large teams (10+ people): must maintain both with formal documentation (Storybook, Zeroheight, Notion) explaining each component's usage, behavior, and accessibility requirements.

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