The Conformity Conundrum: Breaking Free from Design System Constraints

The Rise of Design Systems: A Double-Edged Sword

This week’s newsletter is from Tim Drabandt. Tim is a Creative Director in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he leads, manages, and collaborates with teams of designers, developers, strategists, and product owners to help people lead more fulfilling lives.

The Rise of Design Systems: A Double-Edged Sword

In the ever-evolving world of digital design, we've witnessed a significant shift towards the adoption of design systems. These structured frameworks bring consistency and efficiency to the design process, streamlining workflows and ensuring cohesive user experiences across platforms. However, as we embrace these systems, we're faced with an unintended challenge: the conformity of design.

Design systems, while solving many problems, have inadvertently created a new one. The push for reusable components and standardized patterns has resulted in a landscape where brands and products increasingly look and feel the same. As Lara Mendonça aptly puts it, "Unfortunately, conforming can be the key to success in tech." This conformity, while efficient, threatens to stifle creativity and uniqueness in digital experiences.

The Tension Between Efficiency and Creativity

Those of us who grew up with the advent of the internet remember a time of wild experimentation in web design. From image map navigations to the innovative approach that the social network Path took with its UI, designers had the freedom to create truly unique experiences. Unbound by established conventions, this era arguably had a stronger brand presence with a more human touch.

Charles Eames once said, "Design depends largely on constraints." While true, the constraints imposed by today’s design systems & scale are too rigid, limiting the potential for innovative and distinctive designs. The ROI of implementing design systems is so compelling for organizations that designers now have calculators to justify company-wide adoption. But at what cost to creativity & brand presence?

Breaking Free: The Power of Delight

To combat this creeping conformity, designers must focus on injecting delight into their work. This doesn't mean abandoning the efficiency of design systems entirely, but rather finding ways to push their boundaries and infuse personality into standardized components.

For example, at my current employer, Hero Digital, we recently helped Atlantic Health System launch a new website. As part of this effort, our client was intent on creating a stronger digital presence that spoke to the regional diversity of the Tristate area. Natalia Herrera, Associate Creative Director, worked with illustrator Rose Wong to create an illustration system that is fluid and ever-changing.

For example, the hero image of the homepage changes on each refresh, bringing in a refreshed look each time a visitor arrives on the site. By incorporating these randomized characters, and abstract environments, they've created a digital experience that stands out in the often sterile, stock image-driven world of healthcare websites. This approach demonstrates that it's possible to work within a system while still creating something unique and engaging.

Another stellar example is how Klarna, a buy now, pay later financial service, expresses its brand vision. From motion to language, each detail is considered and thoughtful. Klarna has managed to create a brand expression that is incredibly rich, proving that conformity and creativity are not mutually exclusive. Even common patterns, such as a product listing page, feel familiar but distinctly different through the use of a minimal approach. By pushing the boundaries of their brand expression, their design system creates a distinctive visual language that sets them apart in the financial services space.

As conformity is setting in across all mediums, Mike Hugo from Studio Lowrie also reminds us that, "We also have sophisticated audiences that understand nuance. Creatives who can tap into that potential will keep making work that stretches the notion of brand building." Hugo’s sentiment underscores the importance of brands taking risks and pushing the right boundaries.

Embracing Risk and Responsibility

As designers, we must remember our role as challengers of the status quo. Lara Mendonça eloquently states, "Accept your role as a designer, in the traditional sense of the discipline, as a challenger of the status quo. Our role should indeed be to question decisions made for us."

This means taking calculated risks in design through implementation. While we shouldn't go so far as to create unusable experiences, we should be willing to make investments in the new, and possibly, the future of design. By pushing the boundaries of what's possible within design systems, we can create a sandbox that enables experiences to be both distinctive, memorable and efficient.

Embracing Elasticity: The Path to Innovation

In the face of increasingly bland experiences, we must remember that no risk means no reward. As designers, it's our responsibility to question the status quo and push for innovation, especially within the constraints of what’s been defined. By focusing on delight, embracing creativity, and taking calculated risks, we can break free from the conformity trap and create digital experiences that are truly unique.

The future of design lies not in rigid adherence to systems but in our ability to bend and shape these systems to serve our creative vision. Let's embrace this challenge and continue to push the boundaries of what's possible in digital design.