A UI design system is a set of standards and re-usable components that can be combined to produce a product. Digital Garden follows the atomic design principle to create consistent, scalable and easy-to-use UI design systems.
We believe that any UI design system should be an iterative and evolving process that starts with a solid foundation. This means that the UI design system will continually evolve, and new or updated components will be added as required over time.
Our foundation for design systems is a set of baseline templates that are created through the atomic system.
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Atoms - The lowest level functional building blocks of the UI design system. Typically includes inputs, buttons, headings and links.
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Molecules - Groupings of atoms to create a purpose. These elements are what give the UI design system its consistency and reusability. Typically includes error text, dividers, lists, icons, badges and tooltips.
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Organisms - Gives context to molecules and allows us to build components that serve user interactions and needs. Typically includes forms, carousels, banners, headers, footers, modals.
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Templates - Pages that show how molecules and organisms fit together in the context of the whole UI design system. This allows the content structure of the UI design to be shown
- Pages - Real content applied to templates. These are what we would use to test the UI design system and ensure all the underlying bits work together.|
We produce UI design systems in a Figma file that mirrors the structure above. The file is built around the use of responsive symbols and nested components that can easily be used across teams. The file includes a style guide as well as documentation and code-snippets that support each component.
At our UI design agency, Digital Garden, we use our own internal UI design system that speeds up design and development leaving more time for creative and UX activities. This allows us to consider more complex UX challenges and get the most out of a project. We also have experience using and implementing UI design systems from other organisations, including the NSW Government Design System.
Speak to our friendly UI design agency team to discuss your next website project. Get in touch today.
