Design Systems by Alla Kholmatova (Hardcover Print + eBook)

Design Systems by Alla Kholmatova (Hardcover Print + eBook)

As the web continues to become more complex, designing static pages has become untenable, so that many of us have started to approach design in a more systematic way. In this book, Alla Kholmatova sets out to identify what makes an effective design system that can empower teams to create great digital products.

Also available as eBook.

€48,00

Not all design systems are equally effective. Some can generate coherent user experiences, others produce confusing patchwork designs. Some inspire teams to contribute to them, others are neglected. Some get better with time, more cohesive and better functioning; others get worse, becoming bloated and cumbersome.

What are the key qualities of a well-functioning, enduring design system? Throughout the book, Alla will share an approach that will help you every day with your work.

Whom This Book Is For

This book is aimed mainly at small and medium-sized product teams trying to integrate design systems thinking into their organization’s culture. Everyone in the product team could benefit from reading this book, but particularly visual and interaction designers, UX practitioners and front-end developers.

Scope Of The Book

This book presents a perspective on design systems based on Alla Kholmatova’s experience as an interaction and visual designer. It is about how to approach your design process in a more systematic way, and ensure your design system helps to achieve the purpose of your product and fits with the culture of your team.

How This Book Is Organized

The book has two parts.

Part 1: Foundations

In the first part we’ll talk about the foundations of a design system – patterns and practices. Design patterns are repeatable, reusable parts of the interface, from the concrete and functional (like buttons and text fields) to the more descriptive (like iconography styles, colors, and typography). Patterns interconnect, and together they form the language of your product’s interface.

Shared practices are how we choose to create, capture, share and use those patterns by following a set of principles, or by keeping a pattern library.

  • Chapter 1: Design Systems
  • Chapter 2: Design Principles
  • Chapter 3: Functional Patterns
  • Chapter 4: Perceptual Patterns
  • Chapter 5: Shared Language

Part 2: Process

A design system cannot be built overnight – it evolves gradually with your product. But there are certain principles and practices that we can follow to make sure the system develops in the right direction and provide us some degree of control over it. The second part of the book focuses on practical steps and techniques to establish and maintain a design system, including planning the work; conducting an interface inventory; setting up a pattern library; creating, documenting, evolving and maintaining design patterns.

  • Chapter 6: Parameters Of Your System
  • Chapter 7: Planning And Practicalities
  • Chapter 8: Systemizing Functional Patterns
  • Chapter 9: Systemizing Perceptual Patterns
  • Chapter 10: Pattern Libraries
  • Conclusion

We’ll ship all printed books at the beginning of October, but you can download the eBook immediately!

About The Author

Alla Kholmatova is a UX and interaction designer with a nine-year experience of working on the web, for a range of products and companies. Most recently she was a senior product designer at an open education platform, FutureLearn.

She’s particularly interested in design systems, language, and collaborative ways of working. In the last two years this interest has led her to spend a huge amount of time working on and researching the subject. She’s been sharing her insights with people through articles, workshops, and projects. Alla contributes to design publications, such as A List Apart, and speaks at conferences around the world.

Technical Details

  • 288 pages, 14 × 21 cm (5.5 × 8.25 inches)
  • ISBN: 978-3-945749-58-6 (print), 978-3-945749-59-3 (ePUB), 978-3-945749-60-9 (Kindle),
  • Quality hardcover with stitched binding and a ribbon page marker,
  • The eBook is available in PDF, EPUB, and Amazon Kindle formats,
  • The book will be shipped from the beginning of October via free worldwide airmail shipping from Germany.

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