It’s OK for departments to have their own design system
There’s been a lot of talk about whether departments in UK government should have their own design system recently. I think it’s fine.
Rob McCarthy wrote a post about why MOJ has its own design system which kicked off a flurry of commentary on Bluesky. I met Rob early this year to talk about a ‘design systems assembly’, where the GOV.UK Design System team could gather with all the other design system teams in UK government.
Rather than take a central versus federal view, I think we should look upon the GOV.UK Design System as a common resource, and it should be shaped by a community of peers. The GOV.UK Design System was borne out of community, and I’d argue that’s what can sustain it.
Yesterday I gave a talk about common direction and boring magic for NL Design Systems Week 2024 which touches on community, network effects and how Elinor Ostrom’s rules for managing a commons apply to a design system.
It’d be great to see more people blogging or speaking about this, rather than short-form takes on social media. Please contribute to the conversation and send links when you’ve got them, I’d love to take it all in!