There isn’t a standard definition of “design system” within the web community and people use the term in different ways. In this chapter, we’ll define what a design system is and what it consists of.

Solid principles are the foundation for any well-functioning system. In this chapter we’ll discuss the qualities of effective design principles and look at some of the ways of defining them.

In this chapter we’ll discuss the role of functional patterns and why they should be defined early in the design process.

In this chapter we’ll discuss how perceptual patterns work and their role in a design system.

This chapter describes how to establish a shared language, which allows a group of people to create and use patterns cohesively for a particular product.

This chapter introduces some of the qualities a design system can have, and the ways in which risks and downsides can be managed.

In this chapter we’ll look at finding support for establishing a design system in your organization, and planning and starting the work.

The exercise in this chapter describes an approach to systemizing functional patterns, starting with a product’s purpose.

The exercise in this chapter describes how to conduct an inventory of styles, define perceptual patterns, and integrate them into the system.

In this chapter we’ll look some of the practical techniques to set up a simple, useful, and multidisciplinary pattern library.