As discussed in our previous articles, a design system is a collection of elements comprising a similar visual style. In fact, it’s a set of design patterns that go into a book, and there are a lot of benefits to having a design system in today’s 21st century. This article explains some of the biggest lies in the design system process.
But one of the biggest lies in a design system is that it’s supposed to be comprehensive of every element that needs to be used in the app. Although many companies have a large budget to pay for their design system and rely on the fact that it works, the reality is that it can fail. Design systems are imperfect and will fail if they are not correctly built.
Therefore, it is important to pay attention to the lies designers tell themselves about their system and not fall for them. The reality is that even though an app has design patterns, those patterns can change with different iterations, and the views can change with each platform.
In addition to these big lies, another big lie is that there’s only one way to implement a design system. And, of course, one of the biggest mistakes we make as designers is that we implement a design system as if every app was going to use it. Or, even worse, when we implement it as if there’s only one way to implement it, or that’s the only way to implement it.
We also use design systems wrong when we think they’re only meant for visual aspects. Have you been surfing the web to get a glimpse of the biggest lies in design systems? Or do you need a good design system but worry about how to get one? This article explains some of the biggest lies in the design system process.
Top 8 Biggest Lies In Design Systems
When it comes to design system, the benefits of understanding designs how it works cannot be overemphasized. Here, you need to reach out to the best team of designers to get the right information. Some designers might give you false details. Well, below are the eight lies that would give you a hint.
Design Systems Are Easy To Create and Maintain
Lies! They are hard, and it takes a long time to create and maintain. This can be attributed to the fact that design systems are not just a mere design pattern library of components. But instead, a carefully crafted set of rules governs the creation of components.
Design Systems Can Be Created By Anyone
Design systems should be created by designers with domain knowledge and not just front-end developers. This is because they must be made with people who have a deeper understanding of the problem they are trying to solve. Moreover, designers should be involved in the process because they understand what users need and how to achieve it.
Design Systems Can Solve All Your Problems
Lies! Design systems may help solve some problems, but not all of them. Design systems cannot solve every problem in your organization. Still, they can help facilitate better collaboration between teams and stakeholders by providing a common set of patterns that everyone can use as a reference for building new products and features.
You Can’t Automate It
This is true if you are talking about doing it manually or in the traditional sense (writing down your changes and putting the revisions in a document). But with version control systems, you can automate everything (diffing changes, merging changes, etc.). Therefore, whenever you hear anyone saying that the design systems can’t be automated, rest assured it’s a lie.
Design Systems Are Easy To Maintain Over Time
Lies! It takes a lot of effort to keep design systems up-to-date with new patterns, components, and new technology stacks. In fact, as your organization grows, changes, and evolves, it makes maintenance difficult and expensive to do so as well. Redesigns over time (which means more maintenance costs, too) can be draining, so you need to understand the process to avoid being scammed.
Solves All Your Problems When It Comes To Designing New Products
There will always be something that, no matter how hard you try, still won’t be perfect (because there’s no such thing as perfect). It’s all about balancing good enough design vs. perfectionism.
You don’t want your team spending too much time trying to make something perfect that it takes away from delivering value to your users. So, it would help if you remembered that design systems might not solve all your problems. That’s why having s digital marketing executive is essential for decision-making.
I Have Code Reviews
This is nice in some cases, but it doesn’t work as well as you think it does. Instead of doing code reviews, review your documentation and how your code communicates. Your documentation should be updated so people don’t have to read your code to understand what they should do with it.
I Don’t Need a Domain Name
If you build something and put it on the internet for people to see, then you have a domain name and are liable for any issues/damage that could be caused by using your domain name in an unauthorized manner. These things happen from time to time and can really mess up someone else’s business or personal life (i.e., someone could sue you because of something you did with your website).
To be safe, get a domain name registered and use it everywhere. Even if your domain name isn’t perfect, nobody can steal it from you because of something that was done when you didn’t own it (i.e., not when you were using it).
Final Verdict
The top 8 biggest lies in design systems are a great thing for a team, but just like any other tool, they can be misused. Before you build a design system, ensure you’re aware of these common pitfalls.
