Building a design system from scratch requires more than just components—it needs a foundation that scales with the team and product. When I joined CezanneHR, they had no design system, leading to inconsistent interfaces, slow development cycles, and a growing technical debt.
I created a comprehensive design system that went beyond just UI components. It included design tokens, documentation, component libraries, and governance processes. This system became the single source of truth for design decisions, enabling faster development and maintaining consistency across all products.
6 months
Time
50+
Components
4+
Teams
100%
Adoption
my role
- led the design system strategy and architecture
- created comprehensive component library with documentation
- established design tokens and visual language
- developed governance processes and contribution guidelines
- trained teams on design system usage and best practices
- maintained and evolved the system based on team feedback
how it works
design tokens foundation
established a comprehensive token system for colors, typography, spacing, and other design elements.
component library
built a library of reusable components that maintain consistency and reduce development time.
comprehensive documentation
created detailed documentation with usage guidelines, examples, and best practices for each component.
governance processes
established clear processes for contributing to and maintaining the design system.
team adoption
provided training and support to ensure all teams successfully adopted the new design system.
landing page
token page
what I learned
design systems are as much about people as they are about components
getting buy-in and adoption is often harder than building the system itself.
documentation is crucial
no matter how good the components are, they're useless if people don't know how to use them.
governance is essential for long-term success
without clear processes, the system can become inconsistent and outdated.
design tokens are the foundation of everything
getting the token system right makes everything else easier.
flexibility is key
the system needs to evolve based on real usage and feedback from the teams using it.