HOW TO BUILD YOUR STARTUP'S FIRST DESIGN SYSTEM

Summary from the TLDR Design newsletter

SpotAI developed its first Design System through a structured, practical process suited for small teams. The process involved creating a realistic moodboard, exploring visual styles in Figma, rebuilding mockups with components, collaborating early with engineers, using an open-source component library, building a detailed Figma system tied to code, and maintaining it over time. The result was a scalable, evolving system that streamlined design and development while emphasizing simplicity, collaboration, and continuous improvement.