Design Systems Podcast

Maya Hampton, Senior Digital Product Manager for Design Systems at REI, discusses the power of usage data in driving adoption, efficiency, and quality. Topics include measuring success with adoption and sentiment, assessing lasting impact through metrics, building durable components, and communicating value in design systems.

Join Chris Strahl and JJ Rogers as they discuss harmonizing products in a design ecosystem. They explore integrating new products, adopting a design system in existing products, harmonizing products in M&A scenarios, challenges and benefits of design systems, and the role of design systems in bringing innovation.

Join Kevin Goldman and Sierre Wolfkostin as they discuss the FIDO Alliance's mission to revolutionize online authentication. They explore the development of passkeys, challenges faced, and the increasing adoption by brands. They also highlight the process of designing adoption guidelines and strategies for raising awareness. The podcast also delves into the role of design systems in driving passkey adoption and the importance of accessibility in developing a new standard.

Jay Smith, a systems thinker at REI, discusses the secrets of their design system consistency, including their groundbreaking approach to design, colors, and tokens. They also explore how the system grows with contributors and trees are planted. They discuss the challenges of designing a complex system, determining context and structure, fostering a culture of contribution, and using design systems to ensure consistent user experiences.

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.