On Theme: Design Systems in Depth

Elyse Holladay
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  • MENSAL

Exploring how successful design systems get built, maintained, and deliver impact. Design systems is having a major reinvention moment, and I want to share what's working from design system practitioners out there forging the way. Expect aha moments, actionable insights, thoughtful discussions, and spicy takes from accomplished design system practitioners. Hosted by Elyse Holladay.

  1. Design system quality has a business case now (and it's ... AI?), with Murphy Trueman

    HÁ 1 DIA

    Design system quality has a business case now (and it's ... AI?), with Murphy Trueman

    Murphy Trueman joins me to dig into something most design system teams already know but haven't wanted to say out loud: your design system isn't ready for AI. Ambiguous tokens, undocumented rules, and a lack of parity that only works because experienced humans know how to use the system... we've been getting away with it for years. AI just made the bill come due. We discuss what it actually means to treat your design system like a semantic API, how to think about governance, and why the fixes AI demands are ones we probably should have made years ago. Plus, what it means to allow more roles (and LLMs) to build with the system, and and what teams can do right now to get their house in order. Resources & Links https://murphytrueman.com/https://blog.murphytrueman.com/https://designsystemsforai.com/https://designsystemops.com/📲 Send me a text! Support the show

    37 min
  2. Brand imagery & color swatches: lessons from building for e-comm, with Maya Hampton

    6 DE ABR.

    Brand imagery & color swatches: lessons from building for e-comm, with Maya Hampton

    Maya draws on her experience as a design systems PM at both REI and lululemon to explore what makes ecommerce design systems distinct. From the component library decisions to supporting editorial flexibility and brand storytelling, this episode digs into the real differences between ecommerce systems and other product contexts — and what's driving non-tech companies to invest in designs systems now. Resources & Links Maya Hampton on LinkedInMaya's writing on MediumDriving design system adoptionREI Cedar system 📲 Send me a text! Support the show

    55 min
  3. What to do with AI on your design system right now (and make a better way of working)

    30 DE MAR. ·  BÔNUS

    What to do with AI on your design system right now (and make a better way of working)

    There’s so much happening in the world of design systems: so much noise, so many new tools, and so much pressure. Where to start? Building on what I wrote on the Zeroheight blog, in this minisode I’m offering tactical suggestions for cutting through the noise. I cover the three areas you should be focusing on in your design system right now—MCPs, skills, and agents.md; how to get started designing with code; and defining design guidelines and semantic components—plus a detour into governance and ways of working. But the bit that’s occupying my brain space right now is that I believe that design system practitioners are uniquely positioned to help organizations change how they work with AI, because we own the layer that says: this is how you build UI and how design and engineering collaborate.  Maybe the most important thing that you can be doing is thinking about how you can help your product teams think about what it means to build products today, and how we do it. Resources My writing for Zeroheight:AI in design systems: What’s changing in 20263 practical ways LLMs can support design systems teams today (Oct 2025)Some Murphy Trueman hits:The prompt you never wroteYour next design system user is an agentYour design system might be AI-ready. Your organisation probably isn't.Your design system has opinions. They're just not being enforcedThe AI feedback loop: When design systems train the models that critique themThe bidirectional design system: When code talks back to designErika Flowers, Open Vector📲 Send me a text! Support the show

    23 min
  4. What comes after the infinite canvas? with Robin Cannon

    16 DE MAR.

    What comes after the infinite canvas? with Robin Cannon

    Y’all know I am fully bought in on design-with-code tools, so I loved this episode with Robin Cannon, VP of Product at Knapsack and former IBM Carbon and J.P. Morgan Salt design system exec, on why he thinks the infinite canvas is obsolete, and what we might replace it with.  Robin chats with us about a future where software design happens in the same medium as production code, making the “infinite canvas” abstraction obsolete. But what does “designing with code” really look like today… and in the future? We explore a world with tools that could enable us to build with design-system rules plus broader product context. Plus we discuss why today’s design-with-code tools aren’t quite there yet, the enterprise barriers to working in new ways, and you as a designer can make this shift. Links & References Robin Cannon on LinkedInrobin-cannon.comBuilding for coherence, not compliance, lessons from Baldurs Gate 3, by Murphy TruemanErika Flowers, Zero Vector and Open Vector design approachAgentic Development is just MMOs for Coding, and I am LFG, Erika FlowersKnapsackDessn and Mockdown 💖 Season 2 of On Theme is officially here! 🎉 💖 If you like what you're hearing from On Theme, hit subscribe in your favorite podcast platform and sign up to get episode release notes at designsystemsontheme.com! On Theme is  sponsor free and listener supported, so please support the show with a monthly donation. 📲 Send me a text! Support the show

    55 min
  5. Five 2026 Predictions for Design Systems with Noelle Lansford

    2 DE MAR.

    Five 2026 Predictions for Design Systems with Noelle Lansford

    Noelle joins me again for some 2026 predictions trend encapsulations, and we try to unpack the absolute madness of the first two months of 2026.  1️⃣  Designing with code is in, making pictures of UIs is out.  2️⃣ The new critical deliverables for systems teams are design guidelines, agent rules, tokens, and semantic APIs.  3️⃣ We're gonna see a real focus on brand expression, but also on one-offs.  4️⃣ Design system teams, you do organizational behavior change.  5️⃣ The next chapter of the design system narrative is around quality rather than efficiency.  Plus: the rise of the design engineer and a return to the early 2000s ways of working? I hope so!, nothingburger brands, and design systems gatekeeping. Season 2 of On Theme is officially here! 🎉 💖 If you like what you're hearing from On Theme, please hit subscribe on your favorite podcast platform. On Theme is  sponsor free and listener supported, so please support the show with a monthly donation. 📲 Send me a text! Support the show

    55 min
  6. 2025 Predictions Recap with Noelle Lansford

    9 DE FEV.

    2025 Predictions Recap with Noelle Lansford

    My very first minisode of the entire podcast was some 2025 predictions, and a lot has changed. (Honestly, what was I thinking trying to make predictions in the era of AI? fml) Noelle Lansford joined me for Season Two's official first episode to  recap my 2025 predictions with me and look back on the trends and themes we saw in design-systems-land last year. Stay tuned for part two where we dive in to our 2026 predictions! 📲 Send me a text! Support the show

    41 min

  7. 10/11/2025 ·  BÔNUS

    On Theme S1 Minisode 4: Converge conference 2025 Recap

    I'm back from Zeroheight's Converge conference in Bristol, UK, with my recap and thoughts. In this minisode, find out my three major themes from the event: reducing complexity, shifting towards code to design, and the narratives "framing our future".  Resources & Links: Zeroheight's Converge3 practical ways LLMs can support design systems teams today, on the Zeroheight blogFrom Promises to Practice: the Future of Design Systems, my talk at Converge (video coming soon)John Voss's talk Framing the Future (coming soon)US Section 174 R&D Tax explained📲 Send me a text! Support the show

    30 min

  8. 21/09/2025 ·  BÔNUS

    On Theme S1 Minisode 3: This summer's AI vibe shift and conference news!

    Surprise minisode! In this quick episode, hear a few ways AI tools are useful for design systems now, my new favorite design-eng handoff tool, and three can't-miss industry events this fall. 📲 Send me a text! Support the show

    20 min
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Sobre

Exploring how successful design systems get built, maintained, and deliver impact. Design systems is having a major reinvention moment, and I want to share what's working from design system practitioners out there forging the way. Expect aha moments, actionable insights, thoughtful discussions, and spicy takes from accomplished design system practitioners. Hosted by Elyse Holladay.

Informações

  • Criado por
    Elyse Holladay
  • Anos de atividade
    2024 - 2026
  • Episódios
    28
  • Classificação
    Livre
  • Copyright
    © 2026 On Theme: Design Systems in Depth
  • Site do podcast
    On Theme: Design Systems in Depth

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