I build robust, scalable design systems and component libraries in Figma that allow your design and development teams to build robust digital products.
What is a design system?
A design system is a central area containing a comprehensive set of reusable UI components and information. These components form the building blocks for designing and building your company’s website, app and digital products.
As a product designer, there are a lot of things to take into consideration during the project. For instance, What size are the headings and body copy, how large are the buttons, what are the hover and active states, what style are the icons, what spacing rules should we work with, and how does this change according to the device on which the user is viewing on?
Design systems allows you to put in place standards for all of these aspects of the project.
If you do not have the time to do it right, when will you have the time to do it over?
John Wooden
How design systems will benefit your product
A properly configured design system bridges the costly gap between design files and live code. By streamlining the designer-to-developer workflow, you accelerate feature releases, reduce tech debt, and guarantee perfect visual consistency.
Given how large a UI project can be, it’s crucial to get a design system in place in order to maintain consistency throughout the whole environment. By investing time and effort into a strong design system, many hours of rework can be saved. Some of the benefits of creating a high-quality design system include:
- Reduces rework
- Ensures consistency throughout the project
- Allows for collaboration across the team
- Aids handover to internal and external teams
- Ensures visual and experience consistency
- Speeds up design time to completion
- Means that global updates can be handled quickly
- Eliminates messy design files
Design system & component services
Here are a few of the main design system services I offer. Every project is different though, so I make sure I suggest and use the right tools for every project:
Figma Component Library Creation
I build scalable, responsive component libraries in Figma using advanced features like Auto Layout, Variants, Component Properties, and dark/light mode variables that match modern development frameworks.
Design token systems
I abstract your design decisions into standardised tokens including core colour variables, typographic scales, spacing units, and border-radius rules creating a shared technical language for designers and developers.
Project example
Improvements through design systems
Example to appear shortly.
Design system steps
Audit current interface & assets
I review your existing applications and design screens to map out every variation of colours, typography, layout components, and layout spacing patterns currently in use.
Define token foundations & primitives
I construct the core structural tokens of the system, establishing accessible colour palettes, typographic hierarchies, grid definitions, and responsive spacing details.
Architect master components & states
I build out flexible UI components in Figma, building out all interactive micro-states (default, hover, active, focus, disabled) to ensure components adapt seamlessly across different viewports.
Team handover
I deliver an organised, easily accessible Figma library file, including annotated designs to ensure your product team can understand it and allow improvements over time.
Do you build your design systems exclusively in Figma?
Yes, as a freelance UX UI designer, I build and maintain design system libraries inside Figma. Figma is currently the global industry standard for token management, team component publishing, and seamless developer handover.
At what stage of development does a company need a design system?
If you are testing an early-stage MVP, a simple style guide is usually enough. However, as soon as you have more than one designer or developer, or plan to scale your product past a handful of screens, an organised design system becomes essential to prevent costly reworks and design inconsistencies.