The Balance Between Form and Function

Introduction

Design systems have become an essential part of modern product development. They provide a unified language between designers and developers, ensuring consistency across all touchpoints of a product.

"A design system isn't a project. It's a product, serving products."

— Nathan Curtis

Core Principles

When building a design system, there are several fundamental principles that guide the process:

Consistency

Consistency creates predictability. When users encounter familiar patterns, they can focus on their tasks rather than learning new interfaces.

Simplicity

Keep components simple and composable. Complex components are harder to maintain and adapt to new use cases.

Implementation

Here's a simple example of defining spacing tokens in CSS:

:root {
  --space-1: 0.25rem;
  --space-2: 0.5rem;
  --space-3: 1rem;
  --space-4: 1.5rem;
  --space-5: 2rem;
  --space-6: 3rem;
}

.container {
  padding: var(--space-4);
  gap: var(--space-3);
}

Color system implementation:

:root {
  --color-text-primary: oklch(0.205 0 0);
  --color-text-secondary: oklch(0.590 0 0);
  --color-text-tertiary: oklch(0.680 0 0);
  --color-bg-primary: oklch(0.961 0 0);
  --color-bg-secondary: oklch(0.950 0 0);
  --color-border: oklch(0.880 0 0);
}

Conclusion

Building a design system is an investment that pays dividends over time. It requires dedication, collaboration, and continuous iteration.

The key is to start small, document thoroughly, and always keep the end users in mind.