In this brief conversation, Speaker A warns that receiving only a Figma file as a design system is a red flag, emphasizing that a true design system requires documented processes, a dedicated contact person, and an ecosystem that ensures the system stays current and usable across the organization. Speaker B reinforces this point by noting that a standalone Figma library may merely be a component library, not a full design system, highlighting the distinction between the two.
if I just receive a design system file as a Figma file, that's kind of my first red flag. I think there should be— you should have a contact person, there should be some sort of process documented even outside of Figma for the wider organization to understand the design system. That's the first thing I look for, not just the components itself, but the whole ecosystem that keeps it afloat, make sure that it's fresh and that if I have any questions or if anyone on the team has any questions, there's a dedicated person for me to reach out to, contact. And yeah, just get a full understanding of how the whole system works.
It's one of those things where if you only get a Figma library, you're like, well, you might not actually have a design system. We might just have a component library.
