Building an open source design system for the many
summary
Builds an open source national design system used by more than 100 websites and aimed at 1.5k users with a hybrid governance model that mixes central authority and distributed contribution. Uses GitHub, Figma Community, split libraries and a feature board plus Slack and weekly office hours to scale feedback. Embeds accessibility via 40 swatches and an HSL index with a 500-step contrast rule, exposes semantic tokens (options + decisions) and ships component kits. Outcome: wide adoption and growing contribution but tooling and contribution workflows still need automation. Figma Community + GitHub 100+ compliant sites
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chapters (9)
- 0:00Start
- 2:38A strong brand
- 6:35Principles of design
- 8:48Accessible color system
- 11:43Semantic tokens
- 18:08The case of the stepper
- 18:47Still a long way to go
- 20:52Usable as a free Figma user
- 21:20Usable as a beginner or an expert
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