Content Design Systems at Scale

haley84·Jul 09, 2020

Hi all, I'm looking to connect with anyone who has experience building design systems that are being implemented by non-designers, preferably at scale. We have two design systems at my company; one for product design and one for content design. A unique challenge with our content design system is that it's implemented by non-designers. We need the system to be friendly and flexible without being too discretionary. Our current system is at the foundational level and we are now trying to optimize it for efficiency. I'm mostly looking to learn from others who have built out a system like this before so I can understand what worked and what didn't. Any help would be appreciated!

Carmin·Jul 09, 2020

Hey, generally a design system comprises all aspects of the company. I’d say you need to look at the common area that drive your thinking across the board and put those in the system. For example: company goals and value, brand voice, architecture, journey, and what you’ll see coming up should be principles that would guide any initiative in the company whether for creatives or not. Design and product should follow these principles as much as marketing, content and business development. Only after you’ve put these principles down you should move on the the actual branding

haley84·Jul 09, 2020

Hi Carmin, thanks for the response. We have absolutely done this work as part of our foundation. We are now trying to make the system more usable for those implementing it.