A design system is a collection of reusable components, guided by clear standards, that can be assembled together to build any number of applications.
Fundamentally, design systems are libraries of design tokens, styles, components and assets that can be reused throughout a project or even multiple projects.
A design system isn’t only a collection or a pattern library of the assets and components you use to build a digital product.
Building with a design system and using a library of design patterns, rules, and UX guidelines prevents inconsistencies when shipping products at scale.
What Do Design Systems Contain and who uses them?
95% of design systems include components thanks to the popularity of UI kits once upon a time, which often included style guides or were built upon them. Atlassian’s design system, for example, is made up of a component library, pattern library, brand guidelines, logo library, illustration library, presentation kit, visual elements including colors, iconography, and typography
As the name suggests, designers use design systems the most, making up 58% of users.