PUG Design System
TLDR: In this case study, I share my experience developing a design system from scratch for Privy, emphasizing the importance of design systems in streamlining product development, fostering collaboration, and ensuring consistent user experiences. Driven by a passion for creating streamlined design solutions, I proactively undertook the project to establish a scalable, flexible, and robust framework to support Privy's ongoing growth and evolution.
In an increasingly competitive digital landscape, a well-structured and effective design system plays a crucial role in streamlining product development, fostering collaboration, and ensuring consistent user experiences across platforms. Design systems provide a foundation for seamless communication and cohesive branding, allowing teams to efficiently navigate the design process, reduce redundancy, and deliver a polished final product. This case study showcases the creation of a design system from scratch for Privy, demonstrating the critical importance of design systems in product design and the unique challenges and rewards of building one from the ground up.
As a proactive product designer, I recognized the need for a comprehensive design system to support Privy, a growing company in need of a cohesive visual language for their expanding product suite. Despite being a well-established brand, Privy lacked a unified design framework, resulting in inconsistencies and inefficiencies within their digital ecosystem. Driven by my passion for creating streamlined design solutions, I undertook the project of developing a design system from scratch, ensuring that it would be scalable, flexible, and robust enough to support Privy's ongoing growth and evolution.
This case study will delve into the intricacies of developing a design system, from research and conceptualization to implementation and iteration, highlighting the various stages and decisions involved in the process. By sharing the lessons learned and the positive impact of the design system on Privy's product development, this portfolio aims to demonstrate the pivotal role that design systems play in crafting exceptional digital experiences and providing a competitive edge in today's market.
Process ⚙️
When I began the process of building Privy's design system, I started by breaking down the needed components into various categories, which allowed me to organize and prioritize the design elements systematically. These categories included Actions, Inputs, Informational, Containers, Navigation, and Miscellaneous. Each category encapsulated a distinct aspect of the user interface, ensuring that every element of the design system was considered.
To efficiently manage the design development, I then grouped these categories into three phases, focusing on prioritizing the most widely used components. This approach allowed me to address the most critical elements first and to build a strong foundation for the design system, ensuring that it would be both functional and impactful from the outset.
Phase 1 focused on establishing the foundation of the design system by addressing the most commonly used components. I concentrated on elements such as typography, color, buttons, inputs, checkboxes, radios, switches, banners, and badges. These core components helped create a consistent visual language and set the tone for the entire system, ensuring a solid base upon which to build.
In Phase 2, I delved into more specialized components that contributed to the overall user experience, including dialogs, tags, footers, cards, tooltips, and toasts. By refining these elements, I was able to add depth and versatility to the design system, enhancing its adaptability to various contexts and user interactions.
For Phase 3, I turned my attention to more molecule-level design elements that further enriched the design system. I focused on components such as zero states, drawers, elevations, and tables, which, although less frequently used, played a crucial role in completing the system and ensuring its thoroughness across diverse scenarios.
By breaking down and prioritizing the components in these three phases, I was able to systematically develop a comprehensive and cohesive design system for Privy. This approach effectively streamlined product development, fostered collaboration, and delivered a consistent user experience throughout the platform.
Typography and Color
Typography and color are two fundamental aspects of any design system, playing a crucial role in not only establishing a brand's visual identity but also in enhancing usability and accessibility. The thoughtful selection and application of typography and color palettes contribute to a cohesive and consistent user experience, while also making it easier for front-end development teams to implement the design.
Typography is vital because it heavily influences readability, legibility, and the overall aesthetic of a product. A well-defined typographic system allows for consistent text styles, hierarchy, and spacing, ensuring that information is presented clearly and effectively. Typography also impacts the user's perception of a brand, making it essential to choose fonts and styles that align with the brand's identity and evoke the desired emotions and impressions.
Color palettes, on the other hand, serve multiple purposes in a design system. They not only establish the visual identity of a brand but also contribute to the functionality and usability of a product. A carefully curated color palette should include a range of colors that work harmoniously together and adhere to accessibility guidelines for contrast and legibility. Functional colors, tied to system tokens, are especially important as they provide visual cues for user interactions and signify the state or purpose of interface elements (e.g., primary actions, alerts, errors, or success messages). By associating colors with specific functions, the design system becomes more intuitive for both users and developers.
System tokens play an essential role in streamlining the implementation of typography and color palettes in front-end development. These tokens act as variables, representing design attributes such as font sizes, font weights, and color values, which can be easily referenced and updated throughout the codebase. This approach not only simplifies the maintenance and scalability of the design system but also ensures consistency across platforms and devices, ultimately leading to a more seamless and polished user experience.
Privy Typography - Headings and Text
Master Color Palette
Functional Colors and System Tokens
Designing & Building Components 🧑💻
Once I had established the fundamentals of typography, color palette, and functional colors, I continued to craft the rest of the design system's components, always keeping in mind the importance of consistency, accessibility, and usability. During this process, I collaborated closely with the engineering team to ensure that the design system was not only visually appealing but also technically feasible, robust, and scalable.
Working hand-in-hand with engineering allowed me to gain valuable insights into technical constraints and opportunities, as well as to better understand the practical implementation of the design system. This collaboration facilitated an iterative design process where we could address potential issues and make improvements in real-time, ensuring that each component was optimized for both design and development.
Together with the engineering team, we developed a shared design language that bridged the gap between design and code. This ensured a seamless transition of the components from the design stage to the actual implementation, allowing for a more efficient development process and reducing the likelihood of inconsistencies or misinterpretations.
Through this collaborative approach, we were able to create a design system that was not only visually cohesive and user-friendly but also technically sound and future-proof. The close partnership with engineering contributed to the development of a robust and scalable design system, capable of adapting to Privy's evolving needs and fostering a more streamlined and harmonious workflow between design and development teams.
Samples of some of the components
Is it worth the investment?
5 core reasons investing time in a design system pays dividends:
Design (and development) work can be created and replicated quickly and at scale.
It alleviates strain on design resources to focus on larger, more complex problems.
It creates a unified language within and between cross-functional teams.
It creates visual consistency across products and channels
It can serve as an educational tool and reference for junior-level designers and content contributors.
Looking to create a design system for your business? I am happy to consult or create one for your business!
