The experience and opinions of designers on using design systems in their design process

Abstract

Although design systems have long been adopted and used in the industry, especially by organizations that produce digital products and where software and design teams work in an integrated manner, it is a subject where academic research is very limited and insufficient. A design system is a system that lives by combining reusable components, modules, and codes with designers and stakeholders in a coherent guideline planned in accordance with the vision of the brand, company, and organization. Design systems keep pace with the rapid development of technology, enabling companies today to offer consistent and scalable products to their users. Developing a good working design system depends on many factors; one of the most important is the designer. The designer's expertise in system construction, seamless integration into the design process, and effective communication with project stakeholders are paramount. Gaining efficiency from design systems is a long-term endeavor for an organization; each new design requirement and iteration from project stakeholders could feed this system and reveal potential problems. The extent to which designers integrate these systems into their processes and their thoughts about them are inevitably important. For these reasons, the main aim of this thesis is to explore and learn designers' thoughts and opinions about integrating design systems into their design processes. The research questions are, "What are the experiences and opinions of designers regarding the integration of design systems into design processes?" and "What is the importance of design systems according to designers?" This study also aims to understand the positive and negative effects of designers' use of design systems in their processes. The first part of the literature review provides information about the user experience design, designer, and the design process. The second part analyses the history of the design system, its definition, the elements that make up the design system, and the value it adds to the system concepts. Two different data collection methods were used in the study, and the studies were conducted in two different languages, English and Turkish. A total of 43 designers responded to the online questionnaire. In this questionnaire, a total of 23 questions were asked of the designers about their experiences and opinions on design systems, along with demographic structure questions, and the answers to these questions were analyzed. In the second step of the data collection phase, pilot interviews were conducted, and the interview questions were finalized and analyzed. A total of 16 expert designers from 4 different countries participated in the semi-structured interviews. Each designer who participated in the second stage of the study also participated in the online questionnaire study. In this study, 11 questions were asked. The answers were recorded and analyzed in audio and video format. The online questionnaire and semi-structured interviews were analyzed using thematic and statistical analysis methods, and the results were compared and evaluated. According to the results of the analyses, it is evident that the design systems have a crucial position in design processes. It is seen that a properly and systematically designed design system supports designers' daily work and acts as a guide. In organizations that have matured in using design systems as a guide, it is also stated that this system can add value to all project stakeholders. The success and contribution of design systems in designing "consistent" products and their success in being a "guide" were interpreted as the most important factors. In addition to these results, it is also seen that participants who experience a design system that is not designed correctly have negative criticisms and observations about the system. As a result of the studies, it can be concluded that the use of design systems in design processes is generally positive and welcomed by designers. Another finding is that the construction phase of design systems varies depending on the vision of the brand, company, and product and how they understand the problems of the audience they want to reach. This phase affects the process of designers. Designers generally stated that using design systems in their processes does not restrict their creativity, that it is necessary to have a certain system, and that they design usable and systematic products with their team thanks to this system. Design systems are evolving with new tools and methodologies every day, and it is very important for designers to keep themselves up-to-date during this evolution and to offer applicable and usable products in harmony with their teams.