Fighting the Split effect in UX with Design Systems
summary
Explains the split effect — inconsistent UI that raises cognitive load — and shows concrete evidence like 95 unique text colors and 103 background colors found on one site. Recommends a living design system combining design code and documentation, built with atomic components and patterns, and a lean adopt adapt create path. Uses Atlassian as a model and Spotify’s evolution from a single redesign to 22 separate design systems and then a federated Encore that consolidates foundation plus channel and local layers.
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chapters (11)
- 0:00The problem of inconsistency
- 4:25Defining design systems
- 7:15Components of a system
- 10:09Atomic design methodology
- 12:37Components vs patterns
- 16:36Operational definition
- 19:40Benefits of design systems
- 21:45When to implement
- 25:48Case study: Spotify
- 30:49Starting your own system
- 36:03Maintaining and growing
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