10 best design systems in 2024

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Your clients require a consistent design language that can grow as their digital initiatives do. How do you ensure their touchpoints provide consistent, on-brand experiences?

Design systems are helpful in this situation. A well-thought-out structure can facilitate collaborative design, guaranteeing that designers with different roles, talents, and expertise develop using the same principles.

Whether designing assets for social media, developing an app, or developing rules for utilizing elements on your client’s website, the best design systems guarantee that every platform feels connected to the brand’s overall vision. 

What does the best design system mean?

A design system consists of reusable parts and resources with explicit usage guidelines. It offers tools, standards, and a common language to everyone creating and developing a good, service, or brand.

A design system includes a pattern library and a style guide. Additionally, it may contain a set of shared values and principles that specify the characteristics of a well-designed brand or product. It is a central knowledge repository for teams collaborating on various products and platforms to guarantee outstanding customer experiences. 

You can use several tools to implement your design system, save its components, and communicate them with your team. A web application design library allows you to create a reusable collection of font themes, color palettes, and design elements for any web project.

Why do companies build top design systems?

Companies such as Shopify, Google, Airbnb, and others are developing their distinctive design systems because they want:

Consistency

Design systems serve as a single source of truth for design and development.

Transparency

Developers can use the design system components directly, eliminating the need to interpret design decisions.

Scale

Enables designers to create prototypes faster and optimize developer handoff.

Reusability 

Design methods allow the construction of prototypes with consistent components that can be reused within the company.

Clarity

Design systems help guarantee that design decisions are founded on shared knowledge, allowing team members to comprehend and contribute more effectively.

What makes the best CRM design?

An engaging design system has various characteristics, and the greatest ones meet all of them:

Comprehensive

The ideal design systems have numerous reusable components and patterns. They also offer thorough instructions to help users understand when and how to use different content.

An extensive system demonstrates that the firm is fully aware of the digital aspects that its teams must recreate. It has spent time developing these reusable assets to prevent duplicating efforts.

Open

While your design system does not have to be available to the entire world, it should be freely accessible within your firm. Make it easy to find or have new users jump through hoops to interact with it. Individuals will likely use it, implying they will not derive value from it.

Scalable

An excellent design system evolves with your company, and you should be able to add components for sub-brands and new items quickly. Consider it a live resource rather than something you develop once and never revisit.

Best design systems components

Principles and values

An overview is typically an introduction that contains general information about the design system. Most design systems use their principles to communicate values, define common goals, and convey stories.

They concentrate on how a company’s product should appear and which principles can help the team attain the intended outcome.

Component library

A UI kit, often known as a component library, contains modular user interface components such as buttons, dropdown menus, forms, typography, icons, and more.

UI components have visual consistency, making them reusable. They assist in delivering an intuitive user experience.

Pattern library

Patterns are collections of components often stored in a separate library and intended to be reused, similar to components. Patterns enable designers to reuse functionality and design.

Brand style guides

Branding standards typically explain a company’s goal and the overall appearance and feel of its branding. They also specify how product teams should employ visual styles to be on the same page.

Writing guidelines

Companies care about their brand’s voice and visual identity. Content guidelines enable them to communicate consistently with users.

Accessibility guidelines

Accessible design is for everyone. Many businesses appreciate the importance of accessibility: it fosters trust and allows individuals with impairments to use the product. The primary benefit of an accessible product is that it makes it more fun and straightforward for everyone.

Most design systems contain accessibility suggestions to ensure that their products meet the needs of users with diverse abilities.

Tools and resources

Shared resources are a crucial component of the design system. This section typically includes video courses, plugins, and tools that aid in the design creation process.

Benefits of cool interface design

Best design systems enable teams to collaborate more effectively by centralizing components, assets, a code repository, and guidelines. 

A programmer can copy and paste a previously tested code snippet into the page they are working on. A marketer can simply locate content standards and brand pictures to use in their emails. When these efforts are integrated, they produce a consistent brand identity and a unified experience for the end user.

Programmers, engineers, designers, researchers, writers, product managers, and company leaders must all carefully consider design systems from the start. 

By codifying the most significant brand values and principles, teams can collaborate more successfully using the same vocabulary and strategy to evaluate their work.

Functional and cool design systems enable companies to scale their design and development operations. They help firms that are complex ecosystems with various teams, platforms, and products stay coordinated and unified in their efforts.

Best design system examples to gain inspiration

Top design systems enable designers to create prototypes with ready-made UI components quickly. 

1. Google material design

Google created Material Design, a comprehensive design system that creates a consistent user experience across all platforms and devices. It offers extensive documentation, guidelines, and resources.

Key features:

• Adaptive design guidelines
• Extensive component library
• Animations and motion guidelines
• Accessibility standards

Inspiration: 

Its balance of simplicity and depth, focusing on user experience and interaction, makes it an excellent model for developing your design system.

2. Atlassian design system

Atlassian’s design system is known for its robust documentation and straightforward, organized approach. It is designed to support the brand’s complex product ecosystem.

Key features:

• Strong emphasis on accessibility and inclusivity
• Clear guidelines on branding and tone of voice
• Extensive component library with code snippets
• Detailed design patterns and examples

Inspiration: 

Atlassian’s design system provides detailed and actionable guidelines, which are especially useful for large-scale applications.

3. IBM carbon design system

IBM’s Carbon Design System is a set of guidelines and resources for creating a unified user experience across all IBM products. It is open-source and highly flexible.

Key features:

• Modular components and design patterns
• Accessibility as a core focus
• Extensive typography and color guidelines
• Integration with tools like Sketch and Figma

Inspiration: 

The open-source nature and modular approach make it an excellent reference for scalable and customizable design systems.

4. Salesforce lightning design system

Salesforce’s design system, Lightning, is tailored for enterprise-level applications. It provides a framework for developing applications with a consistent look and feel.

Key features:

• Component-driven design with reusable components
• Detailed guidelines for color, typography, and accessibility
• Integration with Salesforce’s platform

Inspiration: 

Its focus on modularity and reusability is beneficial for designing complex, data-driven applications.

5. Shopify design system

Polaris is Shopify’s design system, which guides the creation of intuitive and accessible ecommerce experiences. It is known for its clarity and user-friendly approach.

Key features:

•  Focused on e-commerce design
• Comprehensive component library and design tokens
• Strong accessibility guidelines
• Includes content design and voice guidelines

Inspiration: 

Polaris is excellent for creating user-centric, accessible e-commerce experiences.

6. Microsoft design system

Fluent in Microsoft’s design system for creating modern, responsive, and accessible user experiences across all Microsoft products.

Key features:

• Emphasis on depth, motion, and material
• Supports broad platforms, including Windows, web, and mobile
• Detailed documentation on components and patterns
• Strong focus on accessibility

Inspiration: 

Fluent’s focus on adaptable, cross-platform design makes it a valuable resource for those working on diverse product ecosystems.

7. Uber base web design system

Base Web is Uber’s design system, focusing on a solid foundation for building web applications.

Key features:

• Highly customizable components
• Performance-optimized
• Accessibility-focused
• Strong design principles and patterns

Inspiration: 

Its flexibility and focus on performance make it ideal for fast-growing products needing scalable solutions.

8. Airbnb design system

Airbnb’s design language system emphasizes visual aesthetics and brand consistency across digital products.

Key features:

• Beautifully crafted components
• Strong focus on branding and visual identity
• Thoughtful user experience design patterns
•  Detailed guidelines on colors, typography, and spacing

Inspiration: 

The intense focus on aesthetics and brand consistency is ideal for creating visually compelling experiences.

9. Mailchimp design system

Mailchimp’s design system, known as “Pattern,” is focused on creating a consistent user experience across its marketing platform. It blends functional design with a playful and approachable aesthetic.

Key features:

• Well-documented design principles and guidelines
• Focus on accessibility and inclusivity
• Playful yet professional visual style
• Comprehensive component library with detailed examples

Inspiration: 

Mailchimp’s design system is an excellent example of balancing brand personality with usability, making it a solid reference for creating a unique yet user-friendly interface.

10. Spotify backstage design system

Spotify’s design system, Backstage, primarily focuses on its internal tools, providing a robust framework for developing consistent and efficient user interfaces.

Key features:

• Modular and scalable components
• Strong focus on developer experience and tooling
• Clear documentation and best practices for internal tools
• Integration with Spotify’s tech stack

Inspiration: 

Backstage is particularly useful for teams working on internal tools and platforms. It offers a well-structured approach to maintaining consistency and efficiency.

Conclusion

With a design system, your teams can produce uniform, on-brand digital consumer experiences with a common language. It can also simplify cross-team cooperation and teamwork; as the business expands, it can even simplify scaling your development job.

However, you must establish a strong foundation for the system’s success before diving in and developing your design system headfirst. First, recognize who will utilize it and what they will require. Next, examine the design systems we highlighted in this article.

These best-in-class examples can serve as a terrific source of inspiration when determining feasible solutions and molding them to meet your organization’s needs.

Frequently asked questions

1. What are the four stages of system design?

Requirements Analysis: This stage involves understanding and documenting the requirements and objectives of the system being designed. It requires gathering information from stakeholders to define goals, constraints, and functionalities that the system should fulfill.

System Architecture: 

In this stage, the overall structure and components of the system are defined. This includes designing how different modules or components interact, defining data flow interfaces, and deciding on the technological stack to use.

Detail Design: 

Once the system architecture is in place, the detailed design of each component or module is worked on. This involves creating detailed specifications, design diagrams, and plans for implementing each part of the system.

Implementation & testing: 

The final stage involves implementing the design, coding the system according to the specifications, and rigorously testing it to ensure it meets the defined requirements and functions as intended. This stage may also include deployment, maintenance, and support for the system.

2. Who uses design systems?

Some of the key stakeholders who may use design systems include:

Designers: Design systems offer consistency and efficiency in the design process, enabling designers to create cohesive and harmonious user interfaces.

Developers: Design systems provide guidelines and components that developers can use to build and maintain a consistent user experience across different platforms.

Product managers: Design systems help align the design and development teams, ensuring that the product maintains a unified brand identity and meets user experience standards.

Stakeholders and decision-makers: Design systems provide a clear overview of the design language and components used in the product, enabling stakeholders to make informed decisions about the product’s design direction.

3. How do you structure design systems?

Structuring design systems involves organizing and defining the system’s components, patterns, and guidelines. This includes establishing a clear hierarchy of elements, documenting usage guidelines, specifying design principles, and designing a flexible system that can adapt to different design needs. By structuring design systems effectively, teams can ensure consistency, efficiency, and ease of use in their design process.

4. Explain UI kit VS design system.

A UI kit typically refers to a collection of visual design elements such as buttons, forms, icons, and other components used for the user interface. It provides pre-designed assets that can be used for consistent visual design across different projects.

On the other hand, a design system encompasses the visual elements, principles, guidelines, and patterns that govern a product’s overall design and functionality. It includes guidelines for typography, colors, spacing, interaction states, and more. A design system focuses on creating a consistent and cohesive user experience across different touchpoints and platforms.