On Theme: Design Systems in Depth
On Theme: Design Systems in Depth
Elyse Holladay
All the things you shouldn’t do for design system success, with Dan Mall — #04
54 minutes Posted Feb 10, 2025 at 4:00 pm.
Dan & Episode Intro
Design isn't the medium of the web
What do successful systems do today? Something.
Time is a flat circle
Don't start with foundations 🌶️
Or worry about the rebrand 🌶️🌶️
Or tokens 🌶️🌶️🌶️
When docs are useless
What a system team shouldn't own
Failed design systems and expectation-setting
Who has been making all these promises anyway??
Dan's failed pitch to leadership
What Dan is excited about for the future
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Show notes
I'm thrilled to have the one and only Dan Mall on the show, and in this episode, we get deep into all the things you maybe don't want to do if you want your design system to be successful. Dan shares his experiences with failed design systems, one very failed attempt at pitching a system to leadership, why he thinks design systems should be specific not generic and maybe... not include foundations? Plus, we talk about useless documentation, what's next for systems, and THE spiciest take...