Design System
A collection of reusable components and guidelines for consistent product design.
Definition
A design system is a comprehensive set of reusable components, patterns, and guidelines that ensure visual and functional consistency across products. It includes UI components, design tokens, documentation, and principles that teams use to build cohesive digital experiences.
Why It Matters
Design systems dramatically improve efficiency by eliminating redundant design work. They ensure consistency across products and teams, speed up development, and make it easier to maintain and update large-scale applications.
Examples in Practice
Google's Material Design provides components and guidelines used across their products. A company's internal design system includes buttons, forms, typography scales, and color tokens. Figma libraries sync with coded component libraries.