On Theme: Design Systems in Depth

• Stop waiting for permission! and other ways to show design systems value, with Brian Alfaro — #05

  📲 Text the show your thoughts!If the way we're building design systems has a fatal flaw, it's "waiting for enough investment to get it right." In this episode, Brian teaches us to not wait for permission and how your product teams' success is your success. Brian reminds us how important it is to remember that we're all on the same team, building the same product—and why internal politics and storytelling matters way more than components. Plus, why design systems are like toilets (not a Dad joke, I promise) and why Brian and I think "measuring the system is hard" is a beautiful thing.💖 On Theme is a brand new podcast, so if you like what you're hearing, please hit subscribe and sign up at designsystemsontheme.com!Links & ReferencesBrian Alfaro on LinkedInThe Washington Post Design SystemBrian on bringing value first on the Connecting your Design System to business value panel with Into Design SystemsBrian on the anatomy of WaPo's component sprints on the Figma blog🎨🎟️ Into Design Systems is May 25-28Get your ticket at intodesignsystems.com/onthemeInto Design Systems is back with their annual virtual conference, May 28-30, 2025. Get your ticket now for three days of practical, hands on sessions showing the what, why, and how of design systems. This year, the conference is focused on developer handoff, accessibility, multi brand theming, and governance. You'll get hands on knowledge you can put to use at work immediately, files and resources to take away, and hear from very well known industry speakers. 

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• All the things you shouldn’t do for design system success, with Dan Mall — #04

  📲 Text the show your thoughts!I'm thrilled to have the one and only Dan Mall on the show, and in this episode, we get deep into all the things you maybe don't want to do if you want your design system to be successful. Dan shares his experiences with failed design systems, one very failed attempt at pitching a system to leadership,  why he thinks design systems should be specific not generic and maybe... not include foundations? Plus, we talk about useless documentation, what's next for systems, and THE spiciest take on tokens.(Honestly, there are so many 🌶️ Spicy Takes™️ in this episode, we might have to rename the show to Design System Spicy Takes!)💖 On Theme is a brand new podcast, so if you like what you're hearing, please hit subscribe and sign up at designsystemsontheme.com!Links & ReferencesDan Mall on LinkedInDan Mall's portfolioDesign System in 90 Days❗️Free Resource: Design Systems in 90 Days Figjam CanvasMore of Dan's free resources, talks, writingDesign that Scales bookBook a 1:1 with Dan🎨🎟️ Into Design Systems is May 25-28Get your ticket at intodesignsystems.com/onthemeInto Design Systems is back with their annual virtual conference, May 28-30, 2025. Get your ticket now for three days of practical, hands on sessions showing the what, why, and how of design systems. This year, the conference is focused on developer handoff, accessibility, multi brand theming, and governance. You'll get hands on knowledge you can put to use at work immediately, files and resources to take away, and hear from very well known industry speakers. 

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• Layoffs, rebrands, and getting "zero results" from your design system, with Noelle Lansford — #03

  📲 Text the show your thoughts!You can't talk about design systems lately without addressing the elephant in the room: layoffs. Noelle walks us through her experience of multiple layoffs in one year, why 2023 was so different than 2020, and how the success criteria of design systems correlated with team layoffs. We discuss the bogeyman of "getting zero results from your design system" and what Noelle was hearing from business leadership about that, and how storytelling might matter more than metrics. Plus, a very spicy take on ~the rebrand~, and why at least one company was hiring for someone to delete  their design system 😱Warning: F-word/language. 💖 On Theme is a brand new podcast, so if you like what you're hearing, please hit subscribe and sign up at designsystemsontheme.com!Links & ReferencesNoelle Lansford on LinkedInHire Noelle on your system: NoelleLansford.comNoelle's semi-viral blog post, The State of Design Systemslayoffs.fyiSam Anderson's Design Systems are InfrastructureeBay Design Playbook🎨🎟️ Into Design Systems is May 25-28Get your ticket at intodesignsystems.com/onthemeInto Design Systems is back with their annual virtual conference, May 28-30, 2025. Get your ticket now for three days of practical, hands on sessions showing the what, why, and how of design systems. This year, the conference is focused on developer handoff, accessibility, multi brand theming, and governance. You'll get hands on knowledge you can put to use at work immediately, files and resources to take away, and hear from very well known industry speakers. 

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• When Design Systems became A Thing with Jina Anne — #02

  📲 Text the show your thoughts!Jina Anne gives us a history of the journey from early style guides to widespread industry adoption of design systems, and the challenges and successes. We explore how tokens came to be, how it feels when the engineering team just starts using your work before it's ready, the separation of HTML/CSS/JS concerns, and how ClarityConf got started. Plus, the origin of the phrase "design systems" (maybe?), and  what the NASA Graphic Standards Manual has to do with ClarityConf. 💖 On Theme is a brand new podcast, so if you like what you're hearing, please hit subscribe and sign up at designsystemsontheme.com!Links & ReferencesJina AnneClarityConfThe Design Systems SlackQuarkSalesforce Theo for design tokensOld-school CSS tools Sass, Less, and StylusCSS Custom Properties (variables)Adam Morris and TachyonsSalesforce Lightning Design SystemNicole Sullivan and Mark Otto at The Mixin meetupRichard Danne, Designing for Earthlings and Astronauts at ClarityConf 2016The original 1976 NASA Graphic Standards ManualGartner Hype Cycle for UX 2024Penpot (Figma alt)Josh Silverman at CCABen Callahan's The Question🎨🎟️ Into Design Systems is May 25-28Get your ticket at intodesignsystems.com/onthemeInto Design Systems is back with their annual virtual conference, May 28-30, 2025. Get your ticket now for three days of practical, hands on sessions showing the what, why, and how of design systems. This year, the conference is focused on developer handoff, accessibility, multi brand theming, and governance. You'll get hands on knowledge you can put to use at work immediately, files and resources to take away, and hear from very well known industry speakers. 

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• Efficiency, respect, and the origins of design systems with Brad Frost — #01

  📲 Text the show your thoughts!Brad Frost takes us back in time to the early days of design systems, and walks us through some of the significant moments of evolution from style guides to modern design systems. We dig in to the multiple proto-Storybook-esque projects, the original problem of sharing UI patterns, what React did, and Brad's personal moment of "oh, it's called design systems now." Plus, a bonus podcast throwback from the Style Guides Podcast feat. Dave Rupert and some early proto-Storybook madness.💖 On Theme is a brand new podcast, so if you like what you're hearing, please hit subscribe and sign up at designsystemsontheme.com!Links & ReferencesBrad FrostBrad's new tokens course, Subatomicpatternlab.ioHow Pattern Lab workedThis is Responsivestyleguides.ioAnna DebenhamNicole Sullivan OOCSSJonathan Snook SMACSS BookNatalie Downe "Practical Maintainable CSS"Ethan Marcotte's original Responsive Design article in A List ApartThe Story of ReactTHAT React CSS in JS slideStyle Guides podcast with Dave RupertRetailMeNot's Roux project 🎨🎟️ Into Design Systems is May 25-28Get your ticket at intodesignsystems.com/onthemeInto Design Systems is back with their annual virtual conference, May 28-30, 2025. Get your ticket now for three days of practical, hands on sessions showing the what, why, and how of design systems. This year, the conference is focused on developer handoff, accessibility, multi brand theming, and governance. You'll get hands on knowledge you can put to use at work immediately, files and resources to take away, and hear from very well known industry speakers. 

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