Guiding Principles and Scope

Three guiding principles underpin our design decisions and guide us when we need to make hard choices. We also have a clear scope for what is included in the Design System.

Guiding principles

Backed by research

Understanding user needs is central. Our design, development, and content efforts must be based on what real people need — what they need to do, what they need to know, and what challenges they may need to overcome. Decisions will be informed by research, best practices, and standards.

Supportive

We recognize there are different solutions to fit different needs. We are committed to making usable, accessible, and flexible designs with clear guidelines. We try really hard to ensure using the Design System is not overwhelming or overcomplicated.

Continuous

The Design System is a living system. We engage in intentional change in order to evolve the system thoughtfully and support user needs. We are open to contributions from our community and transparent about our decisions.

Scope

We aim to fill the Design System with broadly applicable styles and reusable designs. We expect these assets will meet product needs the majority of the time. 

There may also need to be local designs and elements specific to an individual product. While not everything we make ends up as part of the Design System, we encourage suggestions and contributions. We will review all suggested contributions as this helps us find gaps in the system and evolve to support needs.

When deciding whether to add something new to the Design System, we consider three primary factors: 

Is it useful? There is evidence that it would be useful for many websites, web teams, or services.

Is it unique? Has value and doesn’t replicate something that already exists in the Design System. If it’s intended to replace an existing contribution, then there is evidence to show that it’s better (usability, accessibility, design, etc…).

Is it ready? Has been reviewed and approved by the Design System team and tested for accessibility, best practices, and browser support