Design Systems Podcast

Jamie Totten, UX Engineer at Klue, discusses the challenges and benefits of implementing a design system in a fast-paced startup. They emphasize the importance of voluntary commitment, maintaining positivity, and making the most with limited resources. They also explore the significance of attention to detail, adherence to standards, and building strong relationships between design, engineering, and product teams.

Send us feedback or episode suggestions.Chris Strahl sits with Juli Sombat from Spotify and Jason Pamental from Chewy as they unravel the evolution of digital typography, emphasizing the shift from dictation to suggestion. They explore the dynamic between designers and users and the transformative power of user customization.View the transcript of this episode here.Register here for our upcoming webinar, ‘What Really Matters in Design Systems’ on October 25th.GuestsJuli Sombat is the design lead for Encore, Spotify’s family of design systems. Her passion for cross-functional collaboration and her deep understanding of the principles and practices that underpin successful design systems help her evangelize for systems thinking at all levels. Prior to Encore, she led the multi-brand design system at Conde Nast.Jason Pamental is a Principal Designer at Chewy working on their design system, an Invited Expert on the W3C’s Web Fonts Working Group, and a deeply nerdy fan of variable fonts and web typography. Or just another hack with a camera phone, walking around at sunrise posting pictures of a really photogenic collie.Link to the Monotype article Jason wrote: https://labs.monotype.com/caseco-a-case-for-variable-fonts-2d86960a0c19HostChris Strahl is co-founder and CEO of Knapsack, host of @TheDSPod, DnD DM, and occasional river guide. You can find Chris on Twitter as @chrisstrahl and on LinkedIn.Sponsored by Knapsack, the design system platform that brings teams together. Learn more at knapsack.cloud.

Tony Pantello, Senior UI/UX Designer, and Chris Henke, Senior UI/UX Developer, discuss breaking silos and enhancing teamwork in design systems. They explore the collaboration between design and development teams, the challenges of building a design system, and the importance of understanding ROI in design systems implementation. They also emphasize the significance of collaboration and democratization in design systems, advocating for real-time collaboration between designers and developers.

Send us feedback or episode suggestions.Chris Strahl and Billea Breen explore the essential interaction between design and development to craft a flawless user experience, offering tactics to maintain consistency and enhance workflows.View the transcript of this episode here.Register here for our upcoming webinar, ‘What Really Matters in Design Systems’ on October 25th. GuestMeet Billea, the Senior UX Designer at Monster who weaves tech magic into seamless user experiences. With a knack for bridging design and development and a passion for strong foundations, she crafts digital solutions that resonate with all users.HostChris Strahl is co-founder and CEO of Knapsack, host of @TheDSPod, DnD DM, and occasional river guide. You can find Chris on Twitter as @chrisstrahl and on LinkedIn.Sponsored by Knapsack, the design system platform that brings teams together. Learn more at knapsack.cloud.

Design systems expert, Mark Reynolds, discusses the evolving roles of design and engineering in relation to AI and technology advancements. He emphasizes the need for a shift in mindset, new skills, and the creation of specialized roles. The power of community, human creativity, and the potential dystopian future of AI-generated content are also discussed.

Send us feedback or episode suggestions.Chris Strahl talks with Kevin Broich about his transition from backend developer to designer at Cisco. Kevin shares insights on creating a crucial CSS-based UI kit for Cisco's major rebranding phase and more.View the transcript of this episode here.Register here for our upcoming webinar, ‘Theming in Complex Ecosystems’ with Donnie D’Amato on August 30th. GuestKevin Broich, Design Systems advocate. Experienced front-end architect, developer, designer and UI evangelist.  I live at the intersection of design and engineering. Always looking for ways to increase efficiency, reduce friction, and innovate with new tools, automation and processes.HostChris Strahl is co-founder and CEO of Knapsack, host of @TheDSPod, DnD DM, and occasional river guide. You can find Chris on Twitter as @chrisstrahl and on LinkedIn.Sponsored by Knapsack, the design system platform that brings teams together. Learn more at knapsack.cloud.

Send us feedback or episode suggestions.Chris Strahl chats with Kate and Cinita on Pinterest's design system, Gestalt. Learn how their team built a system prioritizing documentation, inclusivity and accessibility. A space designed to ensure global and remote activity, encouraging users to easily contribute and communicate effectively. View the transcript of this episode here.Register here for our upcoming webinar, ‘Theming in Complex Ecosystems’ with Donnie D’Amato on August 30th. GuestsKate Halvorsen is a product designer based in Chicago, IL. She’s currently a staff product designer working on the mobile side of Pinterest’s Gestalt Design System. A big part of her day to day is advocating for experiences that are both accessible and equitable. She enjoys newstalgia design, slow travel and a good lavender matcha latte.Cintia Romero is a product designer with over 12 years of experience building products and experiences for multiple platforms. Latina from Brazil, working at Pinterest as a Senior Product Designer on Gestalt, our Design System, and advocating for human-centered design while spreading good practices related to accessibility, diversity, and inclusion. HostChris Strahl is co-founder and CEO of Knapsack, host of @TheDSPod, DnD DM, and occasional river guide. You can find Chris on Twitter as @chrisstrahl and on LinkedIn.Sponsored by Knapsack, the design system platform that brings teams together. Learn more at knapsack.cloud.

Send us feedback or episode suggestions.Join Chris Strahl as he sits down with Sriram Ramasubramanian from Meta to discuss the intricacies of designing at scale. Dive deep into the world of design systems, Figma plugins, design tokens, and the challenges of interoperability across multiple platforms.View the transcript of this episode here.Register here for our upcoming webinar, ‘Theming in Complex Ecosystems’ with Donnie D’Amato on August 30th. GuestSriram Ramasubramanian is a Senior Engineering Manager supporting Design Systems at Meta. Sriram has many years of experience building component libraries on several UI frameworks and shipping app-wide design updates. Sriram is currently focused on interoperable design systems at scale. HostChris Strahl is co-founder and CEO of Knapsack, host of @TheDSPod, DnD DM, and occasional river guide. You can find Chris on Twitter as @chrisstrahl and on LinkedIn.Sponsored by Knapsack, the design system platform that brings teams together. Learn more at knapsack.cloud.

Send us feedback or episode suggestions.Chris and Robin discuss creating an environment and ecosystem where people are excited to use design systems; and the importance these systems have when encouraging trust and accountability to assist teams with their work.View the transcript of this episode here.Register here for our upcoming webinar, ‘Theming in Complex Ecosystems’ with Donnie D’Amato on August 30th. GuestRobin Cannon is Executive Director and Head of Design System at J.P. Morgan. He was previously Global Director of Design Systems for IBM iX, and Program Director for IBM's Carbon Design System.HostChris Strahl is co-founder and CEO of Knapsack, host of @TheDSPod, DnD DM, and occasional river guide. You can find Chris on Twitter as @chrisstrahl and on LinkedIn.Sponsored by Knapsack, the design system platform that brings teams together. Learn more at knapsack.cloud.

Send us feedback or episode suggestions.Christophe and Chris discuss the art of building thriving design system communities. They share their profound insights and experiences, offering valuable perspectives on fostering vibrant and inclusive communities that flourish with creativity and collaboration.View the transcript of this episode here.Register here for our upcoming webinar, ‘Introducing Knapsack V4: A Powerful Update for a Future-Ready Experience,’ July 26th at 1 pm (ET) and 10 am (PT).GuestChristophe Coutzoukis, manages the Design System Social Club, he's an ADPList mentor, spends tons of time working in design systems and describes himself as a hybrid where he does a lot of design and engineering work. He has over 20 years of work experience, and an extensive network within the design system community. HostChris Strahl is co-founder and CEO of Knapsack, host of @TheDSPod, DnD DM, and occasional river guide. You can find Chris on Twitter as @chrisstrahl and on LinkedIn.Sponsored by Knapsack, the design system platform that brings teams together. Learn more at knapsack.cloud.