The benefits of working with a design system agency

The most common challenge your digital Agency faces is meeting deadlines for UI and UX. But meeting deadlines while producing beautiful designs customers love will drive your brand to success.

Take, for instance, Netflix, which has increasingly and repeatedly depended on design to become an industry giant. Their production process was carefully thought out, from how customers order videos to their shipping and returns processes. When the business noticed DVDs were on the way out, they pivoted and launched an online streaming service.

Other companies like Airbnb and General Electric also understand how design becomes synonymous with success.

So, how can you do the same as Netflix? You need to build design systems that enable unforgettable digital experiences and build a strong web presence.  

In this blog post, we outline the benefits of an entire design system and how working with a design agency will make it easy to implement. At the end of the blog post, you will understand what a design system is, how an agency can boost your productivity with a design system, and what to expect working alongside it. You will see its benefits on your branding and digital product efforts.

We hope you will find this article enlightening and consider if these benefits will help your business. Are you excited to learn how to design and build a new system with these guiding principles?

Key takeaways

• Learn what a design system is
• Learn about design elements and reusable components
• See how an agency uses systems to help your business
• Benefits of creating a design system
• Case Study
• How agencies make new systems simple

What is a design system?

A design system is a collection of decisions you store in a library. It will help developers and designers working on your project clarify your processes and work as one cohesive unit. The result is coherent digital products. In your library, everyone involved can access the resources needed to complete your project efficiently.

You usually include such files as:

• Brand style guides
• Logos
• Design patterns
• Coding choices
• Brand voice guidelines
• Images to incorporate

All of these allow people working on your project to produce a design and final product coherently with your brand. Together, they communicate your brand's visual language and reduce inconsistency across platforms.

Why are design systems important for digital businesses today?

The digital landscape is constantly evolving. We are seeing unprecedented growth in the digital world, with new products and services to choose from daily. For example, in 2023 alone, we saw the rise of AI, content syndication, and a push by businesses to incorporate these into their products.

Customers and stakeholders no longer want these additions; they expect them. Furthermore, potential clients will not wait for your business to redesign your offerings to include these must-haves. If you fail to have a design system to respond to market needs swiftly, your business will be left in the dust.

Design systems have become increasingly common because they organize everything for people working on your products. With such a system, you will save time by not creating the same digital brand asset repeatedly. It leads to scalable output because people will not need to contact you for the resources they need to complete a project. Plainly stated, it's a better way of working.

Imagine all the time you're saving while continuing to deliver top quality for your customers. Designers and developers will love working with you because they know they have everything needed to complete a project easily.

A 2020 survey by Forrester focuses on the fact that 65% of companies have a design system in place. And in 2022, a much more recent study from Sparkbox found 84% of respondents are using design systems in their places of employment.

So, what does a good design system look like, and what features should it include?

A great design system library will give the people working on your project access to your brand assets. They should be able to access these to incorporate into your project quickly.

Here's what you should include in your design system library:

• Media assets
• Text styles and fonts
• Color and gradient styles
• Page templates
• Customizable components

Let's break each of these down, starting with media assets.

Must have brand UI design assets

Media assets you would include are your logo, images you approve for use, icons, and device mockups. Supplying all this lets your designers and developers work quickly to produce a product. You know the final result will be at least on the right track to successfully conveying your ideas. In addition, you'll know that it is on-brand for your company.

Text styles and fonts you should include are the font families you use. You should include all fonts you employ, sizes, and line weights.

Color and gradients should be accessible so designers and developers know what to use in your product designs. It will ensure they aren't employing off-brand color choices and, to say it bluntly, ugly and clunky.

Next, include some page templates. These do not need to be overly complicated. Essentially, they outline the flow of your pages. For example, your blog post pages should all have a similar look and feel to keep customers returning to consume your content. Providing a template will allow designers to create responsive pages that are coherent and easily recognizable across all devices.

Customizable components are by far the most heavy features you should include. These customizable components ensure your brand has a consistent feeling for customers. You wouldn't want to include a circular countdown timer on a webpage if, previously, all your clients have seen are Blok-style countdown timers.

Include the following design components to reduce redesigns before or after the design and development phases in your product cycle:

• Video players
• Time pickers
• Pie charts
• Chips
• Sticky alerts
• Table
• Tooltips
• Titles
• Tables
• Stats
• Sidebars
• Progress steps
• Progress bars
• Pagination designs
• Accordions
• Buttons
• Customer avatars
• Badges
• Buttons
• Button groups
• Date pickers
• File uploads
• Form control
• Breadcrumbs
• Inline alerts
• Input fields
• List fields
• code snippets

When you include all of these UI components, designers can make your responsive design quickly, whether it be for a new website or app. They can reuse previously made assets, reducing touchpoints when they are working on your product, and finish it quickly to send to you. Once you approve it, you can send the design files to developers and get your ideas to the market sooner rather than later.

We all know time is of the essence in business, so the benefits are clear and tangible. You will immediately understand how to best communicate with your target audience, and your team of designers and front-end developers will boost efficiency in their roles.

What are the benefits of successful design systems?

Now, you understand the purpose of a design system and the impacts it can have on your workflows. So, let's further break down how employing a system will impact your team and collaborative processes.

1. Increased efficiency and productivity

When you are launching a new product or responding to market needs, time is of the essence.

Design systems eliminate the need for your team to waste valuable time creating assets you already have. If your designer includes a button on a mockup, they will not need to create it from scratch. They can load it from your design asset library and start designing the remainder of the mockup.

The benefits besides saving time may be difficult to see, but think about. Your designer can quickly get a first draft of a mockup and see time perfecting the user journey and overall look and feel of a design.

You can also save money because you need fewer employees to craft the same high-quality product designs in half the time. Beyond this, it means you can respond and reach your market first, which is a surefire way to increase your brand's reputation and authority.

The bottom line is a design system can allow your team to focus on what truly matters. Creating an unforgettable experience for your customers.

2. Easily recognizable visual consistency across all platforms

Your brand's growth depends on consistency. Customers expect your product and brand to have a similar look and feel. It helps them find your business when they decide to work with you and makes it simple to contact you when they need help.

Using the same fonts, color schemes, and typography keeps your designs harmonious.

So, by having a design process with a digital library, everyone working on your project can see your brand's image.

See why you need a design process system.

It helps keep your brand image intact visually and establishes relationships with your customers.

3. Provides sustainable scalability

Your product business and team will grow, so you must ensure everyone works towards a common goal.

A good design system will have set rules and guides to follow. Proper documentation helps your designers optimize their workflow. You can then use the items in your asset library to onboard designers and developers. Your team will work as a unit, minimizing back-and-forth communication for approvals.

The most impactful benefit here is that any designer you hire can jump onto your project and easily navigate your task, knowing what to include and exclude.

4. Enhanced collaboration among internal teams

Designing a system for people to follow will make collaboration efficient and seamless. Any collaborator can understand your process even if they join your project after its implementation.

With a clear process, your product's final result and updates can be completed in record time.

5. Improvements in your coding and design

A world-class design system will tell your developers how to code all functions in your design. It will reduce confusion during the design handover and set your team up for success.

Your library will include all design and deployment aspects from the designer's and developers' perspectives. You can expect a high-quality product once it is developed.

In short, a system benefits everyone on your team and promotes faster business expansion.

6. Minimize dependency across departments to boost efficiency

Digital products require collaboration across multiple disciplinary teams in your organization. You must reduce information loads when one team finishes and another begins the next phase of your project.

A coherent and developed design system will answer questions your team will inevitably have.

Questions about the design your team could have are:

• Where do components of a design go?
• What components can be used?
• How can assets be combined?

Your design system can answer all these questions if you include the right information and components.

Let's look at a real-life example of a business with a. Create design process.

How Ubereats Leveraged design processes for empathy and efficiency

A compelling example of the power of design systems in action can be seen in the success story of Uber Eats.

UberEats attributes its remarkable success to its ability to quickly iterate and deeply empathize with its customers, a feat made possible through an effective design system.

Background

Uber Eats operates in diverse cities with unique food culture, cuisine, infrastructure, and transportation challenges. To truly understand and cater to these varying environments, UberEats initiated the Walkabout Program. This program involves designers immersing themselves in different cities to observe critical elements like local food culture, delivery processes, and specific challenges delivery partners face.

Challenge and Response

One significant challenge identified was the difficulty delivery partners faced with parking in densely populated urban areas. This insight was gained through the program's hands-on research approach.

To address this, Uber Eats utilized its design system to develop and refine the driver app, focusing specifically on the pain points around parking.

The driver app now provides step-by-step directions from restaurants to customers, streamlining the delivery process and significantly reducing the stress and time spent by drivers in finding parking.

Localized Solutions

Understanding that the pain points vary significantly between geographic locations, UberEats leverages its design system to implement effective upgrades tailored to local needs. This approach ensures that solutions are not just broad strokes but are carefully crafted to address the unique challenges of each location.

Impact

The result is a more efficient and highly empathetic service to customers and delivery partners. The design system empowers UberEats to be agile and responsive, turning insights into action swiftly and effectively.

Uber's Success

This case study of UberEats demonstrates the value of a design system in fostering innovation that is both rapid and deeply rooted in customer empathy. It shows that a design system is not just about maintaining brand consistency but rather using it as a strategic tool for problem-solving and adapting to diverse market demands.

Seem overwhelming? It is a lot to consider, but there are resources you can use to help you create a flawless design system process.

Why should you work with an agency to develop systems that save time?

If you're feeling overwhelmed, there's no reason for it. Running a business is hard enough without considering everything mentioned here. Most businesses do not have a defined design system for their daily functions.

So, often, when a business owner wants to design a process, it becomes time-consuming and stressful.

It's the principal reason you should consider working alongside an agency.

We know the importance of such a system in your business; now, let's see how agencies can easily integrate a system into your business.

The top four reasons you should hire a design agency for your business in 2024

Implementing a design system isn't straightforward. There is much to consider. So, the best way to guarantee you have a successful design system is with an agency. Here are four reasons you should hire an agency to assist you in creating this integral process.

Years of expertise

Agencies know the game well. They have years of experience creating design processes and asset libraries for clients across various industries. An agency will know how to create a system for any business owner, whether they are new or seasoned. Similarly, they can guide you through the complexities of a design system that will benefit your business across multiple platforms and devices.

Most business owners do not have the capacity or resources to do this independently.

Design and implement a new process faster

Agencies thoroughly know best practices when creating a process. It will allow you to get things done faster than on your own. And, in most cases, the investment you will make is a one-time spend for years of increased productivity. In the end, it will save you time and money to hire an agency.

You won't need to worry about training new designers or developers because your asset library consolidates all the documents into one platform.

Save money

An agency will cost less than building an internal team focused on building a system for you. Plus, agencies can offer guidance on how to best employ your system for maximum results in the shortest time.

Scale with flexibility

A great design agency will know when to scale up or down depending on your scope, timeline, and changes during a product's lifecycle.

When an agency helps build your process, it will help you stay within your budget by reducing unexpected costs. You won't need to worry about hiring another person because from the day on, you know everyone who needs to be involved in the development process, and they are present.

Can you see the peace of mind you'll immediately gain even before beginning your project?

If not, let's highlight that an agency will have developed tests over time, allowing them to identify bugs and issues quickly. So, any glitches or inefficiencies can be quickly resolved, saving you headaches later when using the new system.

Ready to work with an agency to create a design system for your products or services?

Now, you understand the benefits of a system and process for design and its impacts on your business.

If you want to work with a team of experienced experts, we are here to help. We will work alongside you to ensure you exploit your potential for years. We can offer full-service design needs according to your specific needs.

Here's what to expect during our partnership.

Our Agency's role

We will devise and provide a system tailored to your business needs. It will adhere to your brand principles and provide a tool stack for your component libraries.

We can assist in:

• Developing a more uniform product design
• Facilitating efficient collaboration within internal teams
• Enhancing brand strategy
• Improving user experience

Defining the scope of the project

We will listen to your needs and assess what system you currently have. In doing so, we can create a highly proficient system that aligns with your goals. We will now consider if you need to revamp an existing system or if you'd benefit from a completely new one.

Establish what's needed to ensure a consistent brand identity.

Your system should include all the assets needed to ensure efficiency when working with developers and designers.

We will discuss what assets we need from you to incorporate these into your asset library. Then, we will help you decide on the most efficient platform for your digital assets.

We will establish your communication methods and define them in your process. Then, you can share your design library and its assets with anyone on your team. They will have everything needed to complete your project successfully.

Building your process so feedback collection is simple

As experts, we understand that feedback is crucial for further iterations of your products. We will build feedback loops at intervals in your design process. You will know exactly when to gather feedback and from whom so you can then implement your process again for further product iteration.

We will create a cycle that allows you to create amazing products quickly and without hassle.

Implementing and maintaining your system

Once we have created the perfect design system for your business, we will implement it and maintain its ongoing success. We will have a list of development rollout strategies, and you will have access to it. The list ensures you are aware of everything happening and what's upcoming. It reduces surprise and uncertainty in the process. So, if you're ready to boost your online presence, get in touch today.

Get in touch

Do you fully understand the benefits of our design system services? They will aid you in rapid product design and benefit your business, whether it's a startup or a successful e-commerce store.

Summary

Agencies are pivotal in optimizing digital brands by creating and maintaining tailored systems for businesses across various industries.

By defining the scope, establishing brand identity, ensuring design consistency, and fostering collaboration, agencies can transform businesses and help them thrive in today's competitive digital landscape.

So, take the plunge and invest in a leading agency to optimize your digital brand and unlock your business's full potential.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does an agency do?

These agencies specialize in creating attractive visual representations of brands, products, and services. They may also collaborate with advertising and consulting firms to ensure the successful implementation of their designs.

How do I create a design agency?

To create an agency focused on design, you must keep your eye on the prize and go outside your swim lane. Remove all fear, being the best hour of your client's calendar. Building relationships by going beyond, leaping without looking, partnering up, creating your brand, building a portfolio, exposing yourself, pricing your work, adding value, having a quality gatekeeper, and caring for your clients.

What does a design system team do?

A design system team creates, manages, and refines a design language, components, and patterns to ensure the user experience remains consistent and intuitive.

What services do agencies specializing in design processes and systems provide?

They offer services to define the scope, create brand identity, maintain design consistency, and facilitate collaboration, all of which support a strong brand strategy and user experience.

How do design systems benefit businesses?

Design systems provide businesses a competitive advantage by streamlining workflows, improving collaboration, maintaining brand consistency, and delivering a better user experience.