Fascinating Things About Design Systems And UI Kits
Design systems and UI kits are two of the most talked about topics in the digital world.
In fact, they have been so frequently discussed that many designers have begun to wonder if we will ever see real innovations again. Well, innovation is always there, whether it’s visible or not!
You may not know that design systems can boost your productivity by 20%, and UI kits can reduce cognitive load by 40%.
A design system is not just a set of UI elements and components; it’s much more. Design systems are an organized collection of user interface elements, coding guidelines, and tools—all intending to streamline the design process and reduce redundancy across projects.
Similarly, a UI kit is more than just a bunch of pre-designed buttons and icons. It’s a strategy for assembling pre-defined components (or kits) into finished interfaces with minimal effort—saving time, money, and resources.
Here are four fascinating things about the design system and UI kit that will give you an overview of these two trending topics in UX design.
1. Design Multiple Projects At Once
Maintaining a well-organized UI kits or design systems can save a lot of time and money by providing a set of rules to follow when working with multiple design projects.
In addition to managing large files and updating different system parts independently, the kit can also be divided into smaller libraries (Icons, Buttons, Illustrations, etc).
Simply finding the correct elements and combining them in new ways will result in endless possibilities.
2. Eliminating Wireframing Level
In the past, web design and development work started with a simple paper or whiteboard wireframe sketches. Wireframes have always been simple and plain intentionally. A team can draft basic ideas quickly using wireframes on paper or a whiteboard.
They can iterate with the client to get the right creative direction at the beginning before the hard work happens with coding and designing. Wireframing as a separate UI phase is dead since we were introduced to a customizable design system and UI kit components in Sketch, Figma, and AdobeXD. The whole process between UI and UX has become much smoother.
Design systems are essential because design teams would be lost without them. In the early days, designers would dig wireframes into cave walls for prehistoric teamwork. But now, with a well-designed UI kit make the wireframing design process more straightforward.
3. Design Systems And UI Kits Are Well Documented
Design systems and UI kits are well documented. They usually have a comprehensive .README file that explains the entire process of how to use it.
A complicated design principle can make the system difficult to use and confusing. Moreover, design principles act as a cheat code for UX; they provide valuable insights into how a design system is built.
4. Design Systems Can Bridge The Gap Between Designers And Developers
Designers are often in charge of designing the UI and flow of your application, but developers are responsible for building it out.
A well-designed system packed with modern development standards, components, styles, and sizes will ensure long-term relationships between the design and development teams.
In fact, a sound design system can help bridge the gap between designers and developers because it allows designers to focus on their work without worrying about technical details such as file types or pixel dimensions. This frees them up to do what they do best: make beautiful designs that are easy for developers to build upon.
Conclusion
We’ve just scratched the surface with four fascinating things about these two tools, but there is much more for you to explore and discover.
On top of that, if you’re working on a project that could benefit from a pre-made collection of UI elements, then using a UI kit is excellent. That said, if you’re dealing with many projects and need a flexible design system that can be customized based on your needs. Then a design system like Fabrx may be the best choice for your workflow.
The bottom line is that design systems and UI kits have many fantastic features that were previously unavailable. You need to understand what their functionality is, especially in regards to helping you build your own inspiration library. Now you can not just get some ideas but can also create an entire system that will give you new impulses for your future projects.