Design System Strategy
Day one: the vast ocean of orientation docs
When joining an organization, there’s a buttload of orientation to cut through. Some organizations space it out over several quarters, some attempt to front-load an employee’s experience with countless doc reading and video watching. I tend to appreciate the latter; get it done first so I can focus on the work I’m here to do. Here’s my timeline for getting started at your company:
Week one
Primary: Consume orientation documentation
Secondary: Meeting leadership and peers
Tertiary: Learn brand and evaluate products
Week two
Primary: Consume orientation documentation
Secondary: Begin meeting design system customers and collaborators
Tertiary: Start to locate/gather existing documentation and tooling for the design system
Week three
Primary: Consume orientation documentation
Secondary: Continue meeting design system customers and collaborators
Tertiary: Attend design and development meetings
Week four
Primary: Treavor’s introduction presentation
Secondary: Wrap up orientation, initial meetings
Tertiary: Begin
strategy for Design system program and system
1. Hitting the ground running & Making Initial Impact Upon Hire
Goal: Build credibility by quickly improving the existing system before introducing major changes.
Audit the Current State
Conduct a design system health check (e.g., heuristic evaluation, UI audits, token structure review).
Identify component gaps, inconsistencies, and governance issues (who owns what?).
Gather feedback from designers, engineers, and product teams on pain points.
Stabilize & Improve the Existing System
Prioritize high-value fixes (e.g., accessibility issues, performance optimizations).
Improve documentation and contribution processes if they’re weak.
If adoption is low, create "quick win" initiatives like component migration guides or Figma component improvements.
Stakeholder Alignment
Meet with engineering leadership to align on priorities (e.g., design tokens, framework changes).
Set expectations with executives—define what success looks like for the system.
If a new system is needed, advocate for an incremental approach (vs. a big-bang relaunch).
2. Laying a New Foundation
Goal: Lay the foundation for a scalable, future-proof system while keeping the current system usable.
Align with Branding & Product Vision
If the company is experimenting with a new brand direction, ensure the foundations (color, typography, motion, icons, spacing, etc.) reflect it.
Ensure the design system supports dark mode, accessibility, and localization needs early on.
Token-First Thinking
Introduce design tokens as the backbone (color, spacing, typography, elevation, motion).
Scale token systems so they work across themes, platforms, and frameworks.
Governance & Contribution Model
Define who owns what—will this be a centralized, federated, or hybrid model?
Set up design reviews, documentation standards, and a contribution process to ensure teams don’t introduce unnecessary one-off components.
Start a Parallel Build for a New System (if needed)
If a new system is required, start by testing it with a single product team before full migration.
Create a transition plan—avoid disrupting active product development with a premature system rollout.
3. Driving Adoption & Long-Term Growth
Goal: Make the system an indispensable part of product development.
Measure & Market the System
Track adoption rates, component usage, and engineering efficiency gains (e.g., fewer custom components).
Evangelize the system—run workshops, create case studies, and showcase success stories.
Build a Culture of Contribution
Empower teams to contribute back via clear guidelines and governance.
Recognize and reward contributions to encourage participation.
Improve Developer & Designer Experience
Ensure seamless developer handoff (e.g., Storybook, code snippets, Figma-to-code workflows).
Provide design education—guidelines should be easy to follow, with examples of best practices.
Continuous Evolution
Regularly update patterns, documentation, and tooling based on user feedback.
Align with company-wide initiatives (e.g., AI integration, accessibility improvements).