Internship← Design Systems learning pathDesign Systems · Module 1 of 10
What is a design system?
A design system is a shared set of rules, components and docs that keep a product consistent.
📖 Key ideas
- It includes design tokens, components, patterns and guidelines.
- Designers and developers use the same building blocks.
- It speeds up work because teams stop redesigning buttons.
- Examples: Google Material Design, IBM Carbon, Shopify Polaris.
- A style guide alone is only part of a design system.
💡 Real-life example: Like LEGO bricks with an instruction book: every team builds different models, but the bricks fit together.
Design systemShared rules, components and docs
ComponentReusable UI piece like a button
PatternA proven solution for a common task
Style guideRules for colours, type and tone