Top 4 Reasons to Hire a UX Agency for Your Design Systems

Why Investing in a Design System is Essential

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What is a Design System?

A design system provides an organized set of resources, principles, and guidelines that help create consistent experiences across digital products. Design systems are composed of reusable components, pattern libraries, style guides, detailed documentation, and more.

A design system isn’t just about the look and feel of a product—it’s also about making sure the user experience is intuitive and effective. The components within a design system should be designed to solve complex problems quickly while providing consistency throughout all products in the suite. By streamlining the process of problem-solving and feature addition, a design system allows designers to be more productive with fewer revisions.

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A design system will include:

• Pattern libraries: These can be used as part of a design system to group UI elements or layouts into categories so that designers can easily find solutions using proven designs instead of starting from scratch each time they encounter an issue.
• Style guides: to ensure uniformity by defining colors, fonts, icons, sizes etc., which make it easier for developers to build out projects without having to worry about styling inconsistencies between different parts of the application or website.
• Detailed documentation: This is essential for keeping everyone on track when changes occur during development cycles; this way, there's no confusion over how something was supposed to look originally versus what actually ended up being implemented in production codebase(s).

A well-crafted design system provides structure for designing at scale while helping teams collaborate more effectively with one another, making it easier than ever before to create exceptional digital products. A design system is a collection of reusable components which are guided by clear standards, and can be put together to build any number of variations or applications. By leveraging the power and flexibility of design systems, organizations are able to create consistent user experiences across multiple products with greater efficiency.

Now let's explore why these systems are so valuable.

Why are Design Systems Valuable?

Design systems are invaluable for product design teams, as they provide a single source of truth and ensure consistency across all digital products. Designers can take advantage of the capability to construct modular elements that may be reused to swiftly and proficiently address intricate issues. By using a combination of design principles, patterns, resources, style guides, pattern libraries and detailed documentation within their design system library; designers can save time when creating new projects or refreshing existing ones.

An atomic design system can provide UX designers with the capacity to stay abreast of modern approaches and techniques for delivering top-notch user experiences. Additionally, by carefully selecting colors which reflect brand identity effectively; teams can build trust among customers while increasing engagement rates on their website or application.

Another advantage of having a well thought out Design System Library is that it provides structure during times of change such as layoffs or team refreshes - ensuring continuity throughout any transition period without sacrificing quality standards. It also helps onboard new team members quickly by providing them with high-quality guidelines from day one so they can hit the ground running faster than ever before.

Design systems are valuable because they provide a framework for creating consistent, unified experiences across multiple products and platforms. By establishing guidelines that can be reused and repurposed, design systems help to save time while ensuring quality in the product development process. With this in mind, take a look at how we helped Moen set up their Design System!

We stood up a fully functional design system in a couple of months. Because of that we were able to get products out the door, period. Incredible ROI for us.

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<div class="callouts"><div class="card_wapper_client"><div class="bg_wapper"><img src="https://assets-global.website-files.com/61d86b3ec78588ec06baf803/64342a8d1c99610edbcc6364_Client%3DBrian%20Colby.png" loading="lazy" sizes="(max-width: 479px) 231.1875px, 308.25px" srcset="https://assets-global.website-files.com/61d86b3ec78588ec06baf803/64342a8d1c99610edbcc6364_Client%3DBrian%20Colby-p-500.png 500w, https://assets-global.website-files.com/61d86b3ec78588ec06baf803/64342a8d1c99610edbcc6364_Client%3DBrian%20Colby.png 525w" alt="" class="img_clinet_wapper-2"><div class="fg_wapper"></div><div class="content_wapper"><div class="padding_wapper-2"><div><div class="text_content_wapper-2">We stood up a fully functional design system in a couple of months. Because of that <strong class="blod_wapper">we were able to get products out the door, period. Incredible ROI for us.</strong></div><div class="div-block-143"><div class="button_card_wapper"><a href="#" id="w-node-_1ad2cbd8-605d-db82-85e9-2d58a07ae9cf-fbcf96be" class="button-lg greedin w-inline-block w-lightbox" aria-label="open lightbox" aria-haspopup="dialog"><div>Watch Video</div><script type="application/json" class="w-json">{
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}</script></a><a href="/case-study/ux-cabin-case-study-moen" class="button-lg w-button">View Case Study</a></div></div></div></div></div></div><img src="https://assets-global.website-files.com/61d86b3ec78588ec06baf803/643428792518c2ae1fdee989_Background%3Dmoen.png" loading="lazy" sizes="(max-width: 479px) 100vw, 700px" srcset="https://assets-global.website-files.com/61d86b3ec78588ec06baf803/643428792518c2ae1fdee989_Background%3Dmoen-p-500.png 500w, https://assets-global.website-files.com/61d86b3ec78588ec06baf803/643428792518c2ae1fdee989_Background%3Dmoen-p-800.png 800w, https://assets-global.website-files.com/61d86b3ec78588ec06baf803/643428792518c2ae1fdee989_Background%3Dmoen-p-1080.png 1080w, https://assets-global.website-files.com/61d86b3ec78588ec06baf803/643428792518c2ae1fdee989_Background%3Dmoen.png 1150w" alt="" class="img_wapper_bg"><div class="logo_wapper"><img src="https://assets-global.website-files.com/61d86b3ec78588ec06baf803/643d4277830acf06dbe3965b_logo.svg" loading="lazy" alt="" class="logo_clinet"><div class="item_wapper"><div class="text_blog_wapper">Brian Colby</div><div class="text-block-24">Principle UX Design - Moen</div></div></div></div></div>

Brian Colby

Principle UX Design - Moen

Who Do Design Systems Work For?

Design systems provide consistent design principles, resources, patterns, and style guides that can be used to create digital products quickly and efficiently. Because of this, they also make it easier to solve complex problems by providing reusable components with detailed documentation.

Who benefits from an implemented design system?

• Developers: they benefit from using a well-designed system because they can build faster with the help of predefined components.
• Marketers: because they have access to consistent branding assets so their campaigns will look professional across different platforms.
• Executives: they like to see increased efficiency from streamlined workflows which allow them to get more done in less time.
• Customers: because they enjoy seamless experiences as they move between devices or use different applications within an ecosystem – all thanks to the power of a good design system.
• Designers: they also reap rewards when working with pattern libraries, style guides, and other elements that come together as part of a cohesive system. Designers don’t need to start from scratch every time they want to create something new – instead they can refer back to existing elements or tweak existing ones if needed. This saves valuable time while still ensuring quality results that meet customer needs and expectations.

In short, everyone involved in product development stands to benefit from an effective design system. It provides consistency across platforms while allowing for customization where necessary, resulting in improved user experience (UX) without sacrificing speed or quality of output.

Customizing a design system to the needs of an organization can maximize its effectiveness in improving product design. It is essential to contemplate the proper timing of introducing a design system in order to realize its utmost benefit.

When Are Design Systems Needed?

Organizations looking to expand their product design and development can benefit greatly from the implementation of a design system. They furnish a harmonious interface experience over various products, platforms, and gadgets while permitting teams to promptly test new capabilities without compromising quality. But when is the right time to introduce a design system?

The answer depends largely on the size of your organization and how much complexity you’re dealing with in terms of existing designs. If you have a small team working on one or two products, it may not be necessary yet; however, if you’re dealing with multiple teams that need to collaborate across several projects, introducing a design system can save time and money the long run.

For teams of more than 10 designers and developers actively working on different projects, a design system can facilitate collaboration while maintaining product consistency and reducing redundant work. This way, everyone will be using the same components and conventions, making collaborating easier while ensuring consistency throughout all products. It also helps reduce redundancies since there won't be as many unique elements being created from scratch each time something needs updating or changed.

Taking into account size considerations, other factors should also be weighed when deciding whether it is time for a design system. These factors include:

• Frequency of changes made by different teams within an organization.
• How often users interact with various parts of an application.
• Level of complexity needed for specific features.
• Amount of legacy code already present in existing applications.

All these factors will affect if investing in creating and maintaining a comprehensive design system is worth it at this point or best to wait until more resources are available (and possibly more complex designs). Check out this episode of The Product Design Podcast with Brad Frost, where he talks about how to create a design system if you are a lone designer on your team!

Top 4 Reasons to Hire a UX Agency for Your Design Systems

Design systems are an integral part of product design, and can drastically reduce the time needed to craft intricate user experiences. But implementing a design system is no small feat - it requires expertise in UX, UI, front-end development, and more. That’s why hiring a UX agency with experience in designing and deploying effective design systems is the best way to ensure success.

1) Expertise: Design agencies have years of experience working on various types of projects across different industries. Design agencies are adept at devising layouts that can be utilized by everyone from novices to those with considerable proficiency. They also understand the complexities involved in creating a successful design system that works for multiple platforms or devices – something most companies don’t have the capacity or resources to do on their own.

2) Efficiency: Agencies bring efficiency through their knowledge and processes which enable them to get things done faster than if you were doing it yourself. This saves you time and money while ensuring your team has access to experienced professionals who can help make sure everything runs smoothly during implementation.

3) Cost Savings: Hiring an agency will often cost less than building out your own internal team dedicated solely to developing your design system(s). Plus, agencies that specialize in design systems have a lot of patterns and examples that they can pull from making things far more expedient and cost effective.

4) Scalability & Flexibility: A good agency should be able to scale up (or down) as needed depending on changes in scope or timeline requirements throughout the project lifecycle so you don’t end up overspending due to unexpected costs associated with having too few people assigned at any given point during development stages.

Good agencies take quality assurance seriously, as they understand how important it is for customer satisfaction levels and reputation management within their industry sector(s). As such, they typically have established testing protocols set up internally which helps ensure bugs and glitches won't slip through unnoticed before deployment takes place. This can save lots of headaches further down the line once customers start using newly implemented features etc.

Here's how we worked on Suite360 to save Navigate360 on development time and costs!

If you don’t pay up front for good designs, you pay down the road in development time, and loss of users. It’s worth the investment to pay up front for good designs

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Chris Riley

Senior Director of
Curriculum Delivery - Suite360

Design Systems FAQs

What are the benefits of using a design system?

Establishing a design system can provide many benefits to b2b companies because it:

1. Enables teams to craft cohesive, user-friendly experiences across all products and services, thereby reducing the time needed for developing new elements or making modifications on existing ones.
2. Offers a unified set of components and patterns that adhere to brand guidelines so designers can efficiently produce high-quality designs with less effort.
3. Allows for better collaboration between product teams as they share common language and processes when working together.

How do you create and maintain a design system?

4 steps to creating and maintaining a design system requires an organized, comprehensive approach.

1. Define the purpose of the design system and its scope.
2. Identify components such as colors, typography, layout grids, iconography and other elements that will be used in all designs.
3. Develop style guides for each component with rules on how to use them correctly across different platforms.
4. Test the design system regularly by reviewing it against user feedback and making necessary changes or updates when needed to ensure consistency throughout products or services.

What are the best practices for creating reusable components in a design system?

Comprehending the user's behavior and interaction with products is essential for constructing reusable components in a design system. It is important to create modular elements that are easy to customize, scale, and maintain over time. To ensure consistency across platforms, consider using established conventions for naming files and folders as well as setting up a clear structure for organizing assets.

Additionally, it is beneficial to use automated tools such as style guides or pattern libraries which help document designs for future reference.

How can you ensure that your design system is accessible to all users?

To guarantee that our design system is open to all users, we need to establish a set of regulations and principles for accessibility. This includes:

1. Using clear and consistent language.
2. Providing alternatives for non-text content such as audio or video recordings.
3. Creating an interface with sufficient contrast levels between text/background colors.
4. Ensuring proper keyboard navigation and focus indicators throughout the user experience, including descriptive alt tags on images when appropriate.
5. Designing forms which are easy to understand and complete by all users regardless of their disability status.

By following these best practices in product design and UX development process we can make sure that everyone has access to the same information no matter how they interact with it.

How does collaboration between designers, developers, and stakeholders affect the success of a design system?

For optimal success, a design system necessitates collaboration between designers, developers and stakeholders to identify any potential issues or opportunities that need to be addressed. Open dialogue among the involved parties is key for ensuring that everyone comprehends what needs to be accomplished and any potential obstructions or chances to take advantage of. By communicating openly throughout the process, teams can ensure that everyone's needs are met and create an effective product with maximum efficiency.

Additionally, collaboration encourages creative problem-solving which can lead to improved user experiences and better results overall.

Ready to Implement a Design System for Your Product?

Design systems are an essential part of any modern business, and hiring a professional agency to implement your UX design system is the best way to ensure success. By understanding what design systems can do for you, who they work for, when it's time to invest in one and why agencies are the experts at implementation - you'll be able to make sure that your company has all the tools necessary for continued growth. With a UX Design Agency team's expertise on hand, there’s no limit as far as how much potential lies ahead with a well-designed set of design systems.

Looking For Help Implementing Your Design System?

UX Cabin's team of experienced experts will ensure your design system is executed and documented to perfection. Let's connect and start talking about how we can support your Design System efforts.

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