This week at Design Systems Collective, we’re sharing sharp takes, practical tips, and a few surprises (yes, Excel makes an appearance).
You’ll find insights on simplifying state tokens, getting scrappy with spreadsheets, turning naming into a team sport, and asking the big question: where does AI end and design begin? (Hopefully not with AI naming our design systems.)
Grab a coffee and let’s dive into what’s shaping the craft right now.
In this issue
📚 Featured Articles
📰 Published in the Last Week
✨ Inspiration
📝 Closing Thoughts
📚 Featured Articles
Must-read articles at www.designsystemscollective.com.
💡 Have an article to share? Submit it here!
Simplifying State Tokens with color‑mix() by Baileypwhite
Why We Like It: One CSS function to declutter states, save mental bandwidth, and make your tokens actually readable. Who knew simplicity could feel this fancy
Pro Tip: Use a single color-mix() token instead of stacking divs for state changes.
Excel for Design Systems – Low budget, yet dev-friendly by Aniruddha Sainkar
Why We Like It: No fancy tooling? No problem. Excel can be your design system’s secret weapon when resources are tight. Spreadsheets never looked so strategic.
Don’t Miss: The layout for components, states, and properties that makes exporting tokens painless.
Design System Naming Workshop by Thaís Polonio
Why We Like It: Naming things is hard, but turning it into a collaborative workshop makes it fun, plus it keeps your system from being “Untitled-DS-1” forever.
Perfect For: Teams that want system names that actually stick (and spark some smiles).
Where AI Ends and Design Begins by Matt Lambert
Why We Like It: AI can help, but let’s not let it write our design eulogy, this article prompts the right boundary.
Perfect For: Designers wrestling with AI-generated layouts.
📰 Published in the Last Week
To stay updated on the latest articles. We share every new article on our LinkedIn page.
👉 Design System Naming Workshop by Thaís Polonio
👉 Excel for Design Systems- Low budget, yet dev-friendly. by Aniruddha Sainkar
👉 Figma vs GitHub vs Google: The Race to Own UX-to-UI Conversion (Part Two) by Youssef Taghlabi
👉 Simplifying State Tokens with color-mix() by Baileypwhite
👉 How Great UX Got Our Client Into Y Combinator (And #1 on TikTok Shop) by Nick McLoota
👉 Design system best practices: Variables by Maksym Cherkashyn
👉 Design system best practices: Components and documentation by Maksym Cherkashyn
👉 Design system best practices: Assets and styles by Maksym Cherkashyn
👉 The Eyebrow Point: A Trivial Checkpoint for When the Real Design-System Work Begins (and Pays Off) by Claus Nisslmüller
👉 Deep Dive into Material Design: Wins, Risks, and How to Hitch a Ride on Google’s Success by Anastasiya Akulenko
👉 The Rise of Design Intelligence by Kevin Broich
👉 Where AI Ends and Design Begins by Matt Lambert
👉 The Documentation Interaction Design (IxD) Archetype in the HexaGrid Design System: Current State… by Claus Nisslmüller
👉 Forget Coding: This Is one of the Most Valuable Skill in Tech Right Now by Usman Writes
👉 The Hidden Bottlenecks That Slow Down Design Projects by Gulshan Rahman
👉 System Design vs Design System by SarahW
✨ Inspiration
Are you constantly searching for innovative ideas and fresh insights in design? Look no further! Here’s a curated list of intriguing content that has sparked our interest lately:
🔗 Design Patterns For... Almost Everything!
Discover how design patterns can be applied broadly to create versatile and efficient designs. Authored by Vitaly Friedman.🔗 Variable Visualizer
Explore this tool that simplifies code visualization, making it easier to understand and debug complex scripts.
📝 Closing Thoughts
As always, thanks for reading and being part of this little corner of the internet. Whether you’re here for CSS tips, AI debates, or just to feel less alone when naming things, this community works because of the people who share what they know.
Got insights, lessons, or stories worth telling? Become a contributor here, we’d love to feature your work.
Until next time, keep building thoughtfully (and maybe keep Excel handy, just in case).
Shane P Williams — Founding Editor