As I’ve evolved my design career, so has my experience with design systems. I’ve started small ones and scaled bigger ones for enterprise. I’ve worked on all aspects of design systems, from designing to documenting components, forming and managing teams, and crafting governance processes and strategies.
As a Senior Design Advocate at zeroheight, I work with design teams to untangle their complex design system challenges, create resources, and share best practices. I also lead the Ambition Empower track on Design Systems. Much of my content is available online for free, and here are some highlights.
- Design System Roadmaps – How to create one
- Governance is a design system’s friend
- Design system checklists – Vetting components and patterns
- Starting, restarting, or refreshing your design system without burning out
- Stop calling your design system a “product”
- How to structure your documentation’s information architecture (IA) with a Figjam template
Design Systems: Beyond the Button
My colleague Nef Dukes and I co-host a podcast that explores everything about design systems once you get past that first button. Spoiler: There’s so much more that people don’t tell you about-but we do!
We record sessions as a live webinar, where people can ask questions. People can watch recordings on YouTube or listen wherever they get their podcasts.
Design Systems WTF
Fortnightly, Luke Murphy and I tackle a design systems question and humorously provide our thoughts and spicy takes. We’ve tackled questions from “Should contributions be rewarded?” To “Is there space for fun and delight in your design system?”
We record sessions as a live webinar, which has been a fun way to engage with people on these topics. People can watch recordings on YouTube or listen wherever they get their podcasts.
How We Document
Since 2022, I’ve led the How We Document survey and report project. This evolving report provides insights into the state of design systems and is a valuable resource for teams to benchmark progress, set goals, enhance workflows, and stay ahead of the curve. Alongside the report, I’ve hosted webinars to share these findings and insights further.
For the 4th edition, we’ve renamed it to the Design Systems Report, which I’m aiming to make even more helpful to the community. Stay tuned, the report will be out in early 2025.