Design Systems

Why design systems fail when they start as PDF style guides

Teams buy "brand guidelines" that marketing loves but engineering ignores. Without coded primitives, every squad reinvents buttons, spacing, and form errors — and accessibility regressions slip through code review.

We build living systems in Figma and code: tokens, component APIs, usage docs, and contribution rules. The goal is fewer one-off pixels and faster PRs, not another slide deck.

What a design system engagement includes

Audit of current UI drift (screenshots + repo or Figma), token architecture (colour, type, spacing, radius, motion), core components (buttons, inputs, cards, nav, tables), and documentation for designers and developers.

Deliverables: Figma library, Storybook or equivalent, token export for CSS/Tailwind, versioning guidance, and a rollout plan for squads adopting the system.

Out of scope unless added: full product redesign, marketing site build, and org-wide training — we can bundle workshops as a separate leaf.

Rollout: adoption beats perfection

Week 1–2: audit and token foundation. Week 3–5: core components with accessibility baselines. Week 6+: pilot squad migration and contribution workflow.

We measure success by adoption — components used in production PRs — not by page count in Notion. Executive sponsors get a monthly adoption dashboard.

Pairing systems with web design and development

Systems pair naturally with Next.js or React build leaves: we can implement tokens in your repo and wire components into marketing and product shells under one master SOW.

If you only need a marketing site, a lighter "mini system" focused on public templates may be enough — we scope that in intake instead of over-building product primitives you will not use.

Pricing and governance

Indicative engagements from €4,500 for a marketing-focused mini system; multi-product token architecture is quoted after component inventory and squad count are known.

Governance covers naming, deprecation, and who approves new patterns — documented so the system survives designer and dev turnover.

When to buy a system vs one-off UI design

Buy a system when three or more teams ship UI monthly and inconsistencies slow releases or break accessibility. Buy one-off visual design when you have a single campaign or microsite with a fixed end date.