Most design systems die the same way: a beautiful Figma library nobody maintains, drifting from production within months. The survivors share one trait — they were built for the team’s actual habits, not an idealized workflow.
Start with tokens, not components
Color, type, spacing and radius decisions compound across everything. Lock tokens first and half your future debates disappear. Name them by purpose — surface, action, danger — not by appearance, so a rebrand doesn’t require renaming the universe.
Then build the ten components you use daily before the fifty you use yearly. Buttons, inputs, cards, modals, tables, toasts, tabs, tooltips, avatars, badges — that list covers 90% of most products.
Govern lightly, document constantly
A system needs an owner and a changelog, not a committee. Every component gets three things: when to use it, when not to, and a live example. Contribution rules fit on one page — if adding a variant takes longer than building one-off, people will build one-off.
Measure adoption, not completeness: what percentage of production screens come from the system? That single number tells you whether you have a system or a sticker sheet.
