A Systematic Approach to Collaboration and Contributing to the Lattice Design System
Blog post from Honeycomb
Honeycomb's design team embarked on enhancing the Lattice design system, beginning in early 2021, focusing on optimizing typography, color, and spacing while addressing design inconsistencies through thorough audits. By 2023, they established a structured process for component creation and collaboration, incorporating feedback from internal stakeholders such as engineers and designers. The team emphasized documentation, accessibility, and establishing best practices to streamline component contribution and improve the overall design system. Efforts included reorganizing Lattice, aligning Figma components with engineering components, and implementing naming conventions to foster better collaboration between designers and engineers. The introduction of an Asana board and Storybook for component tracking, along with comprehensive usage guidelines, aimed to ensure consistency and clarity. The team received positive feedback on these changes, which motivated further contributions and enhancements, and they emphasized the importance of a flexible process that empowers team members to contribute at various levels. The approach acknowledges that design systems are evolving entities, requiring ongoing user feedback and iterative improvements, encouraging the emergence of new ideas and collaborative action.