Design systems are more than just a UI library—, they are the infrastructure your team needs to scale. Having centrally- located, well-defined processes, documentation, and tooling enables your team to ship with more confidence and higher quality.

A full design system consists of a UI Library, Storefront, and Operations.

• The UI Library includes styles, patterns, and documentation for both designers and developers.
• The Storefront is a location where any person can access all the design system information.
• Operations provides the guidance and tooling required for managing the creation and on-going evolution of the design system.

The Infrastructure your Product Needs

Infrastructure is the invisible force that makes our modern world function. Without it, we couldn't travel long distances, drink clean water, or enjoy anything over the internet.

While the word infrastructure probably elicits images of roads and pipes, I want to focus on the infrastructure of your product.

Yes, your product has infrastructure whether or not you've intentionally created it. All of these things are part your product infrastructure:

• Roadmap and planning
• Customer support
• Team staffing
• Sales and marketing
• and much more...

These are the operations and systems that make your product "run".

The word infrastructure has been used in French since 1875 and in English since 1887, originally meaning "The installations that form the basis for any operation or system".

Like any complex ecosystem, various parts of your product infrastructure will be stronger than others. There is a new part of product infrastructure that you've probably heard of, but aren't quite sure how it fits in: a design system.