The Broken Promises of Design Systems: Why Following the Rules Won't Get You to Great Products

Overview

Author: Itai Vonshak
Published on: April 24, 2025, by UX Magazine
Main Argument: Design systems, though created to bring order and speed to product design, often end up stifling creativity and becoming maintenance-heavy, thus not fulfilling their promise.

Intended to accelerate cohesive experience building, ensuring quality and consistency.
Meant to cover patterns, components, motion, content strategy, and micro-interactions.

Rigid Rules: Instead of simplifying design, they have become strict rulebooks and glorified sticker sheets, stifling creativity.
Adoption Challenges: Professionals spend more time advocating for adoption than actual design work.
Unread Novels: Manuals are often ignored, making patterns ineffective as they are not encapsulated in code.
Innovation Stiflers: They force designers into predefined boxes, leading to homogenous digital experiences.
Maintenance Intensive: Keeping systems updated and consistent is a Sisyphean task.
Outdated with AI: Design systems lag behind as AI reshapes the design landscape.
Scalability Issues: They fail small and large teams alike, either because of bandwidth or dilution.

Adherence to a design system does not ensure a great product. True great design comes from thoughtful, flexible design practices.

Need for AI-powered tools that are dynamic, intelligent, and adaptable.
Encouragement to develop other tools and ideas beyond traditional design systems.

Design systems can be part of the solution, but they are not the sole answer for achieving design at scale.

Full adoption of design systems is often not justified by cost savings alone.
Encourages exploring new methodologies and tools to complement design systems in the age of AI.

Itai Vonshak has extensive experience leading teams at major companies such as Google and Amazon, advocating for the role of design in product development.