Design Systems
What is a Design System?
A collection of reusable components, guided by clear standards, that can be assembled to build applications.
Components
Atomic Design
Atoms: Basic building blocks
- Buttons, inputs, labels, icons
Molecules: Simple combinations
- Search bar (input + button)
- Form field (label + input + error)
Organisms: Complex components
- Header, sidebar, card
Templates: Page layouts
- Dashboard, settings page
Pages: Specific instances
- User dashboard, admin settings
Design Tokens
{
"color": {
"primary": {
"50": "#f0f9ff",
"500": "#0ea5e9",
"900": "#0c4a6e"
},
"neutral": {
"100": "#f5f5f5",
"900": "#171717"
}
},
"spacing": {
"1": "0.25rem",
"2": "0.5rem",
"4": "1rem",
"8": "2rem"
},
"font": {
"family": {
"sans": "Inter, sans-serif",
"mono": "JetBrains Mono, monospace"
},
"size": {
"sm": "0.875rem",
"base": "1rem",
"lg": "1.125rem"
}
},
"radius": {
"sm": "0.25rem",
"md": "0.375rem",
"lg": "0.5rem"
}
}Component API
interface ButtonProps {
variant: 'primary' | 'secondary' | 'ghost';
size: 'sm' | 'md' | 'lg';
disabled?: boolean;
loading?: boolean;
leftIcon?: ReactNode;
rightIcon?: ReactNode;
children: ReactNode;
onClick?: () => void;
}Documentation
Each component should document:
- Usage: When to use
- Props: Available options
- Examples: Common patterns
- Accessibility: A11y considerations
- Do/Don't: Best practices