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Design systems : A practical guide to creating design languages for digital products.
by
Not all design systems are equally effective. Some can generate coherent user experiences, others produce confusing patchwork designs. Some inspire teams to contribute to them, others are neglected. Some get better with time, more cohesive and better functioning; others get worse, becoming bloated and cumbersome.
Hardcover, 288 pages
Published
2017
by Smashing Magazine
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Start your review of Design systems : A practical guide to creating design languages for digital products.

Instead of thinking in terms of static pages, teams are starting to approach design in a more systematic way. This book talks about how to make an effective design system that helps generate coherent user experiences, inspires teams to contribute to them, and get better with time. Here are my notes:
Design patterns are any repeating, reusable part of the interface (eg button, typography). A design system is a set of connected patterns and shared practices for a digital product.
The domain influe ...more
Design patterns are any repeating, reusable part of the interface (eg button, typography). A design system is a set of connected patterns and shared practices for a digital product.
The domain influe ...more

If you work in a development team and your team is developing a new digital product you can create your own design system. The main goal of a design system is to systemize design processes. It helps u to create and archive your own patterns and signatures, and even helps you to produce and curate your own design language.
In this book, Alla Kholmatova sets out to identify what makes an effective design system that can empower teams to create great digital products. I highly recommend designers an ...more
In this book, Alla Kholmatova sets out to identify what makes an effective design system that can empower teams to create great digital products. I highly recommend designers an ...more

Learned a lot on pattern librairies and design systems. Interestingly enough, our team is starting to build the equivalent for our digital products. Will definitely continue to read on that subject and try to put in practice some of the advices provided in the book. Next up : Inclusive Design Patterns.

Review
Good insight on an interesting topic, a bit redundant but still good content. If you've some experience in the industry, some concepts will be somewhat clear by now like the importance of getting buy-in or the intricacies of coordinating work and communication between product teams within a company.
There are many references to great articles through out the book that I'd like to read next, would've liked to have them as an aggregated list at the end like a bibliography.
Notes
Design ...more
Good insight on an interesting topic, a bit redundant but still good content. If you've some experience in the industry, some concepts will be somewhat clear by now like the importance of getting buy-in or the intricacies of coordinating work and communication between product teams within a company.
There are many references to great articles through out the book that I'd like to read next, would've liked to have them as an aggregated list at the end like a bibliography.
Notes
Design ...more

This is a great book to understand the fundamentals of a design system and the techniques to produce and manage one. It explains several concepts with real examples and it doesn't impose a strong opinion on how to build it. It tries to show the different facets a design system may have.
Personally, two concepts draw my attention:
- The definition of a functional pattern based on purpose, and not only its main functionality. Grouping a series of patterns (Hero, Banner, Related content) under the "p ...more
Personally, two concepts draw my attention:
- The definition of a functional pattern based on purpose, and not only its main functionality. Grouping a series of patterns (Hero, Banner, Related content) under the "p ...more

Nov 15, 2018
Nadya Tsech
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
product-design-and-management
I would recommend this book to designers who haven't started to build their own library or just at the beginning. It has a lot of useful theory and some practical tips on building the library and less on maintaining and improving.
...more

I'm very deep in this topic already, but Design Systems from Alla Kholmatova was a very interesting read. I especially liked the focus on the intention of patterns and what design means. A lot of blog articles on the topic of design systems focus on technical and practical aspects of these systems or are too general. So this book adds a good approach on why and how to create design systems and teams around it.
The things I'm missing a little bit are deeper insights and an analytical view on shown ...more
The things I'm missing a little bit are deeper insights and an analytical view on shown ...more

Nov 21, 2017
Milana Stanic
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
professional
This should be considered a handbook, not just a book, you can go through it and something will stick BUT ultimately you will have to make a specific case for your specific needs and this book as Santa's little helper will do it. It has completely changed my mind on some things and opened my eyes for others, I am amazed. So, why 4 then? The structure is weird for me, I am not sure how to explain it apart form, it is not chronologically set and that confuses me. All the operations I need to do I
...more

I rated 5 because this book served the purpose it promised to me. It exceeded my expectation. Alla creates a simple and comprehensive categorization for design patterns which she explores each one more in details throughout the book. The book is full of different examples of processes and practices of different teams.
I also appreciate the way Alla avoids complication of an issue that could easily get overcomplicated.
I also appreciate the way Alla avoids complication of an issue that could easily get overcomplicated.

Alla writes a handsome book here, catering to the needs of visual and UX designers seeking a systematic and modular approach to their work. There’s much redundancy on basic design concepts, though: identifying principles, building consensus, clarifying functions, the difficulty of naming. And there are only passing references to front end implementation strategies, which has my interest. Recommended, for visual designers, but not developers per se.

Great book to read to learn more about design systems.
Found some of the thinking and examples really great to those who are new to the subject and need to consider how to organise the content and information you might have on a design system better.
Something that the book doesn’t do as well is discuss how to apply it across the wider company with enough detail and ideas on how to sell it.
As a base though it is super useful, helpful and genuinely a book id always recommend :)
Found some of the thinking and examples really great to those who are new to the subject and need to consider how to organise the content and information you might have on a design system better.
Something that the book doesn’t do as well is discuss how to apply it across the wider company with enough detail and ideas on how to sell it.
As a base though it is super useful, helpful and genuinely a book id always recommend :)

As someone who's starting the process of creating a design system, this book has been very timely. It's packed with clear and straightforward examples from a wide variety of existing systems. It's full of real-world and concrete advice, as well as stories of design systems that could have gone better.
Highly recommended for anybody that's thinking about implementing a design system. ...more
Highly recommended for anybody that's thinking about implementing a design system. ...more

Practical and full of examples, shows how a system can be built from very strict to very flexible, encourages the reader to understand the building blocks of their system and translate them into reusable components and moreover, talks about the adoption of this system by non design departments and later maintainance. Very complete and one of my reference books so far.

Alla provides great insights and perspectives, not only for the design of interfaces themselves, but also what's necessary at a people level in order to have a strong philosophical foundation for tackling big projects and involve stakeholders across design, development, marketing, and more.
...more

Finished only two thirds because this was borrowed and I had time constraints.
Useful overview, but not with many deep insights. Good for complete non-designers like me, but if you have any experience, I have doubt you'll get many new things from this. ...more
Useful overview, but not with many deep insights. Good for complete non-designers like me, but if you have any experience, I have doubt you'll get many new things from this. ...more
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