Sarah Federman
Design Engineer
Design
Systems at
Scale @sarah_federman
Sarah Federman
Design Engineer
Design
Systems at
Scale @sarah_federman
Engineering
Operations
Design
Engineering
Operations
Design
A brief history of the
universe
Old Photoshop
Atomic Design
“We’re not designing pages, we’re
designing systems of components.”
- Stephen Hay (2012)
Document-oriented development
becomes component-oriented
development
Design and engineering have been on
a collision course for years.
Enter design systems
Styleguides & Brand Guidelines
Spoiler: No one has figured it out yet.
Spoiler: No one has figured it out yet.
What is a design system?
A product that helps us scale our
design practice.
Scale means getting the best results
with the least duplication of effort.
Scale means getting the best results
with the least duplication of effort.
Keeping your designs DRY.
Duplication leads to fragmentation.
Duplication leads to fragmentation.
Diving deeper
In order to really understand what a
design system is, we have to
understand where it lives.
A design system is an organizational
problem.
A design system is an organizational
problem.
A design system is run like a product.
A design system is run like a product.
Resources + Operations outputs Product
Product + Emotion creates Experience
The product is what users consume.
The experience is how it makes them feel.
The operations are how it’s made.
None of it really matters as long as your
team knows what the heck you’re talking
about.
Buttons, links, inputs,
icons, etc
Fonts, colors, sizing
Basic documentation
UI Components
Grid
Code style
Developer tooling
Design tokens
High level guidelines
Accessibility information
Internationalization
Motion guidelines
Voice and tone/writing
Workflow tooling
The benefits
The benefits
Quick iteration
Stronger brand identity
Everyone speaks the same language
Better user experience
A delivery mechanism for
important goals.
A delivery mechanism for
important goals.
A delivery mechanism for
important goals.
Collaborating at Scale
Design Systems at
Adobe
spectrum
SPECTRUUUUUU

UUUUUUMMM!!
What scale are we dealing with?
What scale are we dealing with?
Over 250 designers
world wide
What scale are we dealing with?
Over 124 products
sent to market
What scale are we dealing with?
Available in
4 color themes
What scale are we dealing with?
Available on
6 platforms
UWP
(Windows)
macOS Web
Desktop
iOS Android Web
Mobile
What scale are we dealing with?
Built in multiple
frameworks
This has 1,080 permutations
Call to action
Primary
Secondary
Warning
Over background
Standard & quiet styles
5 interactive states

(default, hover, down/touch,
keyboard focus, disabled)
Extra
Light
Light
Dark
Extra
Dark
Web Desktop macOS UWP (Windows)
Web Mobile iOS Android
Web DesktopmacOSUWP (Windows)
Web MobileiOSAndroid
Engineering
Operations
Design
Establishing trust
Implementing at scale
Designing at scale
Measuring success
relaunching our website
Establishing trust
2017 Q2
“Is this up-to-date?”
pain point
Spectrum “Basic Elements” - 2017 Q2
Lightroom CC
“Does this work for
my product?”
pain point
Spectrum needed to be something
people can really trust.
Inclusion Criteria
Inclusion Criteria
cross-platform
4 color themes
accessible
documentation
etc.
website
website
spectrum=
Interactive playground
Resources
Anatomy
Variations
Usage guidelines
Keyboard interactions
Imperative vs. Declarative Approach
callout
image
column
row
section
column
content-block
callout
image
Imperative vs. Declarative Approach
callout
image
Imperative vs. Declarative Approach
column
frameworks and tooling
Implementing at scale
Designers
Engineers
Hybrids
spectrum-react
spectrum-css
spectrum-native
Spectrum Design Frameworks
etc.
Spectrum DNA
Spectrum DNA
Store constants as data
Integrate constants with UI code
Validate design integrity
checkbox-box-border-radius
border-radius-xsmall
border-radius-small
border-radius-regular
border-radius-medium
border-radius-large
border-radius-small
border-size-thin
border-size-thick
border-size-thicker
border-size-thickest
checkbox-box-border-radius
border-radius-xsmall
border-radius-small
border-radius-regular
border-radius-medium
border-radius-large
border-radius-small
border-size-thin
border-size-thick
border-size-thicker
border-size-thickest
1 pt
2 pt
4 pt
8 pt
16 pt
2 pt
1 pt
2 pt
4 pt
8 pt
checkbox-box-border-radius
Asset Delivery
Asset Delivery
Cataloging & Tracking
Storage & Workflow
Delivery & Validation
an evolving design process
Designing at scale
“Where did
everything go!?”
pain point
Button
Link
Split Button
Action Button
Toggle
Switch
Radio
Checkbox
Text Field
Text Area
Tag
Table Forms
Stepper Field
Flyout Menu
Dropdown
Combo Box
Simple Search
Search Within
Slider
Color Slider
Color Picker
Loader
Calendar
Progress Bar
Star Rating
Scroll Bar
In-line Alert
Toast
Tooltip
Status Light
Dialog
Badge
Banner
Rule
Tabs
Accordion
Panel
Carousel
Popover
Web Rails
Basic Table
Basic Card
Global Header
Steplist
Pagination
Miller Columns
Side Navigation
Tree View
Bread Crumbs
Logic Button
Tray
Video Player
Drag & Drop List
Drag & Drop Zone
Tool
Well
these have not been vetted
Button
Link
Split Button
Action Button
Toggle
Switch
Radio
Checkbox
Text Field
Text Area
Tag
Table Forms
Stepper Field
Flyout Menu
Dropdown
Combo Box
Simple Search
Search Within
Slider
Color Slider
Color Picker
Loader
Calendar
Progress Bar
Star Rating
Scroll Bar
In-line Alert
Toast
Tooltip
Status Light
Dialog
Badge
Banner
Rule
Tabs
Accordion
Panel
Carousel
Popover
Web Rails
Basic Table
Basic Card
Global Header
Steplist
Pagination
Miller Columns
Side Navigation
Tree View
Bread Crumbs
Logic Button
Tray
Video Player
Drag & Drop List
Drag & Drop Zone
Tool
Well
these are vetted against the entire system
Button
Link
Switch
Radio
Checkbox
Text Field
Dropdown Tooltip
Dialog
Button
Link
Split Button
Action Button
Toggle
Switch
Radio
Checkbox
Text Field
Text Area
Tag
Table Forms
Stepper Field
Flyout Menu
Dropdown
Combo Box
Simple Search
Search Within
Slider
Color Slider
Color Picker
Loader
Calendar
Progress Bar
Star Rating
Scroll Bar
In-line Alert
Toast
Tooltip
Status Light
Dialog
Badge
Banner
Rule
Tabs
Accordion
Panel
Carousel
Popover
Web Rails
Basic Table
Basic Card
Global Header
Steplist
Pagination
Miller Columns
Side Navigation
Tree View
Bread Crumbs
Logic Button
Tray
Video Player
Drag & Drop List
Drag & Drop Zone
Tool
Well
these are vetted against the entire system
Button
Link
Action Button
Switch
Radio
Checkbox
Text Field
Tag
Dropdown
Slider
Loader
Progress Bar
Tooltip
Status Light
Dialog
Rule
Tabs
Basic Table
Side Navigation
Tool
How can Spectrum
grow faster?
Spectrum Precursors
Spectrum Precursors
Spectrum Precursors
Spectrum Precursors
Documentation,
a design process
Involve various
disciplines early.
Involve various
disciplines early.
scorecards
Measuring success
How can we measure
adoption at scale?
pain point
Spectrum Scorecards
Spectrum Scorecards
Spectrum Scorecards
Self-assessment
Spectrum Scorecards
Self-assessment
Spectrum assessment
color system
elements
icons
inclusive
etc.
color system
elements
icons
inclusive
etc.
color system
elements
icons
inclusive
etc.
Engineering
Operations
Design
Thank you!
Sarah
@sarah_federman
Special thanks to PJ Buddhari (@pudjeeb_pj )for her
contributions to the content and slides.

Design Systems at Scale