Thoughts on a Global Design System

Recently, Brad Frost published a post on the idea of a global design system. It clearly captured some hearts and minds, sparking conversations and blog posts in reply.

I love the idea of a global design system. It was only a few months ago that I was thinking along the same lines. With that being said, I think there are many challenges to it and I’m not sure if it’s ultimately unachievable. Chris Coyier’s post on this highlights a lot of valid points that I agree with and won’t repeat here (he puts it very eloquently himself).

My primary thought on this is that getting a majority of web professionals globally to agree on how the system and components should be structured would likely be impossible. It’s difficult enough getting consensus within a single organisation!

We all want to make our own mark on our work and the World. We all have our own opinions and preferences on how to build for the web. Just look at the amount of libraries, frameworks, methodologies and technologies in use! In trying to achieve adoption of a system at global scale, do you make it too generic in an attempt to appease the masses? And in trying to appeal to everyone, do you ultimately end up not being right for anyone?

You could look at the HTML, CSS and JavaScript specs as a global design system. Maybe that’s enough? It’s the base layer that all other systems are built on now. And it’s the open source frameworks and tools built on those standards that people rally around already. Maybe we just need a few more native HTML elements and to use the platform?

I don’t want to come across as being a naysayer on this. The idea makes a lot of sense and would be great for accessibility and productivity, I just can’t picture how it could come together right now.

But I guess that’s the point of Brad’s rallying call. To get us all thinking and talking about it. To figure out collectively what this thing could be. It’s certainly interesting to ponder…