Designing a Design System for Modular Modules, and Building a Team to Build it
summary
USA TODAY NETWORK rebuilds its sites on a Polymer web components framework, pairing a modular server-side microservice architecture with a design system that turns 12 one-off story promos into one reusable module (P1). Styling relies on CSS custom properties, mixins and a small theme element; documentation enforces five questions per module and demo-driven development plus an “adopt a module” sprint cadence. The redesign launches to 100% of sites last week, powers mobile usatoday.com, and shows readers spending significantly more time per visit.
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chapters (11)
- 0:00Introduction and Context
- 2:29Modular Framework Launch
- 3:52Modular Thinking Approach
- 5:02Revisiting the Design System
- 10:32Documentation as a Tool
- 15:30Impact of the New System
- 16:06Structuring Development Teams
- 17:19Roles in Component Development
- 22:53Team Cooperation and Empathy
- 25:36Component Developer Experience
- 29:53Conclusion
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