Design Systems WTF

zeroheight
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A podcast from zeroheight.Let’s be honest, design systems are full of choice wtf moments. Michelle and Luke, two of our resident design advocates, are attempting to combat this with a new regular series, where they answer a single question around design system troubles every two weeks. 

  1. JUN 2

    Can you actually measure the ROI of a component?

    Selling the value of your design system to folks who don't necessarily understand it is a difficult and thankless task. But are we trying to sell in the right things? Is it possible to put the value of our design system against the bottom line, and how far down the stack can we go? Can we actually put a dollar sign against a single component?

    24 min

  2. MAY 19

    Should designers know how to code?

    The age old question – should designers know how to code? Or more specifically, how much should designer know when it comes to code? Considering it's the medium that we're designing for, it's still surprising how much this topic splits opinion. Luke and special guest Rob Whitfield will dive into the pros and cons, and give some practical advice if you did want to delve into the witchcraft that engineers do.

    30 min

  3. MAY 5

    Are accessibility guidelines enough to be inclusive?

    Making your design system as inclusive as possible is something that I think we all agree on. However, for most systems teams, this means creating some accessibility guidelines and then ticking it off the list. Is this enough? Is there more we can be doing?

    25 min

  4. APR 21

    Are design systems a dead end?

    Inspired by Luke's article on the death of design systems, Michelle and Luke dive into whether design systems have a future... are we at a natural point of evolution or are design systems going to go the way of the dinosaurs?

    31 min

  5. APR 7

    How big is too big for a design system?

    How big is too big? Is there a point where your design system just becomes unwieldy? Luke and Michelle dive into this question from a previous episode, and try and figure out how you keep your design system to a manageable size. Or is that just a nice problem to have, and we should embracing our systems to grow to the size they need to be?

    27 min

  6. MAR 25

    When is OK to snowflake?

    Detach instance is a concept that has stuck fear into the hearts of design systems folks since the beginning. However, there are definitely instances where it’s totally ok to snowflake components! How should you deal with snowflakes in your system? How does this play into your overall view on flexibility, and can you actually use snowflakes as a way to determine what you should be working on?

    26 min

  7. FEB 17

    How much is too much documentation?

    Sometimes we may feel the urge to include everything in our documentation, to the point where it rivals Lord of the Rings for length and density. However, we may be doing ourselves a disservice! How much is too much documentation? How much is not enough documentation? Do we even need documentation at all? join us for the last Design Systems WTF of the year!

    27 min

  8. FEB 3

    Where should design systems sit in your org?

    Design systems should sit in the design team. Design systems should sit in the designops team. Design systems should sit in their own team. There are so many different options that are presented as the ‘truth’ when it comes to design systems and org design. Michelle and Luke are going to wade through the options, weigh up their merits and probably tear the entire thing down to the ground by the end of the half hour.

    30 min
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Ratings & Reviews

4.7
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

A podcast from zeroheight.Let’s be honest, design systems are full of choice wtf moments. Michelle and Luke, two of our resident design advocates, are attempting to combat this with a new regular series, where they answer a single question around design system troubles every two weeks. 

Information

  • Creator
    zeroheight
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2025
  • Episodes
    39
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Zero Height Limited
  • Show Website
    Design Systems WTF