Finding creative space in a constrained place

Design systems are an essential aspect of any designer's toolkit, as they help ensure consistency and coherence across all products and services. But I’ve often seen and heard some designers feel that design systems can be limiting and that they stifle creativity. This is where a more modular approach to design becomes effective. Modular design is an effective approach to finding creativity within the constraints of a design system. By breaking down components into smaller, reusable parts, designers can create a more flexible and adaptable system that still allows for creativity and innovation. But modular design does not necessarily equal a design system.

Modular design is a powerful tool that allows designers to create a wide range of designs while still maintaining consistency and coherence across all products and services. This approach involves breaking down components into smaller, reusable parts that can be combined in different ways to create new designs, rather than trying to build perfect components for every use case. This approach not only allows for creativity but also makes it easier to maintain and update the design system.

Atomic design is the most common example of modular design. But also toolkits like UI libraries—for example schadcn’s UI, or, lower level primitive libraries like Radix UI—could be considered a form of atomic or modular design. These toolkits don’t dictate what you must do with them, but they do provide a framework to increase clarity, remove abstraction and increase speed.

For designers, there’s UI kits that are often called “Design Systems”. These cause unhelpful confusion as they’re assets not systems. They’re like a designer’s version of Radix’s primitives, but can end up treated like a design system instead. Constraining the design process and leading to repetitive, cookie-cutter designs.

UX not UI. Finding creativity within the constraints of a design system can feel difficult, but one option is to focus on the experience. By understanding the needs and goals of the person using the product, you can create designs that are both functional and aesthetically pleasing.

Think about it like building a house. Architects don’t often create new materials to build with, so they’re constrained by bricks, plasterboard, metal girders and more. Those constraints don’t stop them from building groundbreaking and award-winning places, instead, it allows them to focus on the combination of those elements and challenges them to push them to their extremes. It also forces them to focus on the experience of the individual in the space; planning their journey with intention and purpose.

Pushing the System. In addition to focusing on low-level molecules and the user experience, designers can also find creativity within the constraints of a design system by experimenting with different smaller design elements. This can include playing with typography, color, and layout to create unique and innovative designs. By experimenting with different design elements, designers can create designs that stand out while still maintaining consistency and coherence across all products and services.

Collaboration. It's also worth noting that finding creative space within a design system can be a collaborative effort. By working with other designers and stakeholders, designers can gain new perspectives and ideas that can help them to create more innovative designs. Collaboration can also help to ensure that all designs are consistent with the overall design system and meet the needs of the user. Ultimately, this requires a balance between creativity and consistency, and by using the right tools and approaches, designers can achieve this balance and create designs that are both effective and visually appealing.

Looking outside of Product. Furthermore, designers can also find inspiration outside of their design system. Looking to other industries, art forms, and cultures can provide fresh perspectives and ideas that can be applied to their own designs. For example, a designer working on a healthcare app may find inspiration from the wayfinding systems used in airports or the color palettes used in nature photography. By broadening their horizons and seeking inspiration from diverse sources, designers can bring new ideas and approaches to their work, ultimately leading to more innovative and effective designs. In short, creativity can come from anywhere, and designers should always be open to exploring new ideas and perspectives.

A global design system

There’s been talk recently about the idea of developing a global design system. A platform-specific but company-agnostic system that ensures accessibility and usability are held to the highest standards possible across any platform.

As Brad Frost puts it: A Global Design System would improve the quality and accessibility of the world’s web experiences, save the world’s web designers and developers millions of hours, and make better use of our collective human potential.

Couldn’t. Agree. More.

In his article Brad outlines the benefits, such as improved accessibility, reduced duplicative work, and better use of resources. He sensibly suggests using Web Components for technology-agnostic, easily themeable, and accessible components. He does acknowledge challenges in implementation, especially if you consider React’s prevalence on the web and Web Components’ relative complexity compared due to their reduced abstraction, but calls for collaboration and discussion among the web community to make this vision a reality.

I can see a place where this would work really well if we get it right, as a community, but truthfully I feel like it could be a hugely complex challenge because individual incentives seem to often be at odds with business incentives with these systems.

But arguably with a global system, we’d likely find a way to make it even easier to search for creativity in the constraints because we’d all be working with those same constraints. Love it.

Ultimately, finding creative space within a design system is not only possible but also essential for creating innovative and effective designs. By using a modular design approach, prioritizing the user experience, experimenting with different design elements, collaborating with others, and seeking inspiration from diverse sources, designers can create designs that are both visually appealing and functional. While design systems provide a framework for consistency and coherence, they should not be seen as limiting, especially the proposed idea of a global design system. Instead, designers should view them as a starting point for creativity and innovation. With the right tools and approaches, designers can find creative space in even the most constrained places and create designs that meet the needs of the end customer while also pushing the boundaries of what is possible.