These examples showcase best practices in creating scalable and cohesive design systems.?
1. Material Design by Google
Website: Material Design
Overview:
Material Design is Google’s design system for creating intuitive, visually consistent interfaces across devices. It emphasizes a unified visual language, responsive layouts, and motion principles.
Key Features:
- Components: Buttons, cards, app bars, navigation drawers, sliders, etc.
- Guidelines: Detailed documentation on typography, color, iconography, and motion.
- Tools: Material Theme Builder for customizing themes.
- Accessibility Standards: Includes WCAG guidelines for color contrast and usability.
Why It’s Effective:
- Provides robust documentation and interactive examples.
- Includes ready-to-use components in frameworks like React, Flutter, and Android XML.
Use Case Example:
Gmail and Google Drive use Material Design principles to ensure consistency across platforms like mobile, web, and desktop.
2. Fluent Design by Microsoft
Website: Fluent Design
Overview:
Fluent Design is Microsoft’s design system for creating interfaces across Windows, Office, and other Microsoft products. It focuses on light, depth, motion, and material.
Key Features:
- Components: Fluent buttons, navigation menus, modals, and input fields.
- Design Principles: Emphasizes seamless transitions and spatial relationships.
- Platform Support: Guidelines for Windows apps, iOS, Android, and web.
- Theming: Allows for light and dark modes with adaptive color palettes.
Why It’s Effective:
- Enables developers and designers to create apps that align with Windows' native experience.
- Offers clear token-based theming for customization.
Use Case Example:
Microsoft Teams and Office 365 use Fluent Design for consistent, user-friendly interfaces.
3. Carbon Design System by IBM
Website: Carbon Design System
Overview:
Carbon Design System is IBM’s open-source design system built for enterprise applications. It ensures scalability and flexibility for complex, data-heavy products.
Key Features:
- Components: Data tables, charts, pagination, modals, and form elements.
- Themes: Includes IBM’s default themes with options for customization.
- Accessibility: Built to meet WCAG AA standards.
- Developer Tools: Includes React, Vue, and Angular component libraries.
Why It’s Effective:
- Tailored for enterprise-level applications with advanced components.
- Focuses on modularity, making it easy to scale.
Use Case Example:
IBM Cloud and Watson products use Carbon for seamless user experiences across platforms.
4. Lightning Design System by Salesforce
Website: Lightning Design System
Overview:
The Lightning Design System powers Salesforce’s UI, providing tools to create consistent, professional interfaces. It focuses on enterprise and CRM applications.
Key Features:
- Components: Buttons, dropdowns, tooltips, progress bars, and data tables.
- Icons and Tokens: Includes a vast library of icons and design tokens for spacing, colors, and typography.
- Framework Compatibility: Supports Salesforce’s Aura and LWC frameworks.
- Accessibility: Built for keyboard navigation and screen reader compatibility.
Why It’s Effective:
- Designed specifically for Salesforce’s CRM tools, making it highly specialized.
- Offers robust developer documentation and prebuilt components.
Use Case Example:
Salesforce apps like Sales Cloud and Marketing Cloud use Lightning for consistent UI elements.
5. Polaris by Shopify
Website: Polaris
Overview:
Polaris is Shopify’s design system for building e-commerce applications. It focuses on merchant-first design, making it ideal for creating intuitive online shopping experiences.
Key Features:
- Components: Product cards, payment forms, navigation bars, and empty states.
- Patterns: Predefined interaction flows for common e-commerce tasks like checkout.
- Guidelines: Includes copywriting tips to ensure clear and consistent messaging.
- Developer Tools: React components for seamless integration with Shopify apps.
Why It’s Effective:
- Tailored for e-commerce, addressing merchant-specific needs like product management.
- Combines design and content guidelines to ensure consistency.
Use Case Example:
Shopify’s admin interface uses Polaris for dashboards, product listings, and sales insights.
6. Design System by Airbnb
Website: Not publicly accessible; internal use.
Overview:
Airbnb’s internal design system focuses on creating delightful user experiences through modular components and a focus on inclusivity.
Key Features:
- Components: Forms, modals, navigation menus, and review systems.
- Visual Language: Emphasizes warm colors, friendly typography, and accessible layouts.
- Collaboration: Tools like Lottie for animations and React Sketch.app for design/developer collaboration.
Why It’s Effective:
- Focuses on emotional connection and usability.
- Includes animations (via Lottie) for enhanced micro-interactions.
Use Case Example:
Airbnb’s booking interface and listings pages are built using its design system.
7. Atlassian Design System
Website: Atlassian Design System
Overview:
Atlassian’s design system supports collaboration tools like Jira, Confluence, and Trello, ensuring consistency and scalability.
Key Features:
- Components: Breadcrumbs, tabs, banners, inline messages, and avatars.
- Patterns: Flows for onboarding, error handling, and notifications.
- Theming: Customizable themes for enterprise customers.
- Accessibility: Meets WCAG 2.1 AA standards.
Why It’s Effective:
- Tailored for complex workflows and team collaboration tools.
- Includes advanced components for task and project management.
Use Case Example:
Jira’s dashboards and Confluence’s knowledge management interface use this system.
8. Spectrum by Adobe
Website: Spectrum Design System
Overview:
Spectrum is Adobe’s design system for creating cohesive experiences across its Creative Cloud and enterprise products.
Key Features:
- Components: Steppers, sidebars, dialogs, dropdowns, and sliders.
- Typography: Tailored for design-heavy tools, focusing on legibility.
- Theming: Light and dark modes with Adobe's signature color schemes.
- Scalability: Built to handle complex creative applications.
Why It’s Effective:
- Provides highly polished and professional UI elements.
- Perfectly integrates with Adobe’s creative tools.
Use Case Example:
Adobe XD, Photoshop, and Illustrator all adhere to Spectrum principles for consistent UI.
9. Ant Design by Ant Group
Website: Ant Design
Overview:
Ant Design is an enterprise-level design system and React-based framework for building data-driven applications.
Key Features:
- Components: Data tables, graphs, filters, and advanced form controls.
- Themes: Prebuilt themes with customizable tokens.
- Developer Focused: Includes detailed code snippets for easy implementation.
- Internationalization: Supports multiple languages out of the box.
Why It’s Effective:
- Ideal for enterprise dashboards and data-heavy applications.
- Combines design and code seamlessly for fast deployment.
Use Case Example:
Used by Alibaba and other enterprise platforms for admin panels and dashboards.
10. Uber’s Base Web Design System
Website: Base Web
Overview:
Base Web is Uber’s design system built for rapid prototyping and consistent UI development.
Key Features:
- Components: Buttons, modals, breadcrumbs, and loaders.
- Scalability: Designed for fast-growing apps with large user bases.
- Customizable Themes: Supports brand-specific theming.
- Code-First Approach: Focused on developer usability.
Why It’s Effective:
- Prioritizes flexibility and speed for deployment.
- Allows teams to maintain brand consistency across all Uber apps.
Use Case Example:
Used in Uber Eats, Uber Rides, and other Uber applications.
Takeaways from Real-World Design Systems
- Clear Documentation: Ensure the system is easy for both designers and developers to use.
- Scalability: Design systems must grow with the product.
- Platform Compatibility: Offer components for web, mobile, and desktop.
- Accessibility Focus: Include WCAG compliance for usability by all users.