One of many great #designsystems conversations over the last week: we need to stop using the phrase ‘single source of truth’. It’s bullshit.

AS IF I snuck this episode of Systems of Harm out yesterday without posting about it - but 90% of the design systems community was at Converge. This week’s guest is none other than @bradfrost.com (‼️) talking about design systems and ADHD. Apple: apple.co/4qQfR50 RSS: bit.ly/43gtLkB

With the end of my current contract at Gymshark coming to an end in Feb…and with the holidays inbetween, I’m starting to put the feelings out for a potential next gig Give me a shout if you’re up for a chat!

Still in the place of barely using socials these days. Just not as interesting as it used to be, which is a massive shame… Tell me something good that’s happening in your worlds!

Get on board!

Published another of our #FFConf speaker interviews today. This time, pleased to introduce Hannah Clarke (if you're on bluesky, I've yet to find you!) on "An Uncomfortable Place" about building framework-agnostic components. Get your ticket and see it IRL, interview here: ffconf.org/articles/202...

Big fan of Mario Kart World btw

It's release day! We're pleased to announce the immediate availability of WDC OS 2.0. Updates include: * Full Speaker Lineup * Agenda for the day * WDClippy if you need help Tickets for the day are just £100. webdevconf.com

…so how about you lot?

The book is still very much in progress - awesome designer working on the cover and copy editor about to start work on it Pre-orders once the design is ready from what I hear 🤯

It’s more than 6-months since my album came out. Still feels great that I actually did a thing Once there’s headspace, so much new music to finish and put out

While the day job is more design-side, it’s been pretty awesome working on a side project with @hannahc.bsky.social, learning a load of nextjs, api architecture, Supabase and all kinds of stuff

Might see if I can get the ol’ social media reflexes going again. So much has been going on!

Just don’t have that instinct or need to post on socials these days. The demise of Twitter and the continued shitification of pretty much every other platform have sucked what little joy there was out of it Anyway…hope you’re well

Totally forgot about social media for a while. It’s been great!

🤔 Are Design Tokens overhyped? 😵‍💫 When does theming become a nightmare? 💸 Have you ever had trouble proving the Design System’s value? 🌶️ Tomorrow, we'll ask all the spicy questions 🥳 Over 500 design system professionals have already signed up. Are you joining us? 🙋‍♂️ lu.ma/c9lp044o

It’s interesting getting to know myself more Like with onboarding at a new place - I kind of want all the In formation flicked into my eyeballs the minute I start so I can start digesting it rather than a chilled process to find your feet

Everyone involved in the creation of a product has an obligation to consider its ethical implications. You can’t outsource this responsibility or expect someone else to “figure it out”. It has nothing to do with your job description, and everything to do with being human.

While trying to get to the end of the first draft of my book I hit that point repeatedly that should just delete and start again…so great to hear the confidence that my editor has in it. Just the thing I needed to power through 👌

📣📣📣 I’m thrilled to announce that I’m doing a new advice show/series called Open Up I’m doing with my good friends at @smashingmagazine.com! www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNnv... ti.to/smashingmaga...

Great couple of hours with Street Group to chat through a load of questions and problems they have with design systems. Kind of cool not needing to prepare anything and field a wide range of questions from different disciplines and product teams. Maybe I know a thing or two 🤷🏻‍♂️

Got a decent chunk of writing done yesterday (finally). Some of which went into exploring how we can prove monetary savings or similar value, which ended up covering a lot! Is that kind of calculation something you’ve done? Did the saving _actually_ materialise?

I’d often wonder what I say to my younger, teenage self about the future… I have 7 different apps for car parks.

With the attr() updates I’m pretty sure you could make a real #WebComponent without any JavaScript, and it would be useful!

While being a big Figma fan, I can still yearn for them to make a better product. So many areas feel half finished or not thought through 🤷🏻‍♂️

In that stage of very eager to wrap up on a project that…was not ideal… have a week focusing (if I can) on book stuff then starting a new gig 😁

Getting fairly annoyed by apps and adverts talking about ADHD being a super power. Now having a diagnosis, it was to help understand what (if anything) I can do with things I struggle with. It’s also likely a part of what I’m good at but mainly see it as a negative. It’s been a journey

This trend of reaction videos has all the hallmarks of being so cringey - that before long kids would be look at you funny telling them that people used to watch people reacting to other people’s videos 😂

What does community mean to you in online spaces?

When wanting to listen to new music (or just new to you), how do you like those recommendations? Like…by word of mouth, Spotify algorithm, blog posts, etc?

Remember when Duolingo’s copy was seen as friendly and a pretty good example? At what point did it tip over into desperate and creepy?

Do you want to know how I *really* feel about Adobe Spectrum? Join us on February 6th to find out. 🫢 www.linkedin.com/events/inspe...

Tempted to get some of these made up as stickers. If I do, anyone want in! #designsystems

Only one day in office…? Feels like so long already. It’s going to be the longest 4 years, isn’t it…

Nextjs folks - what’s a good wysiwyg editor these days?

@lukasoppermann.com Hey Luke’s - seemed like your Style Dictionary tips might be what I need but just getting a ‘Package subpath is not defined by “exports” error when trying to use getIsType as per the README Something I’ve messed up here?

When you realise how easy it is to make a custom format in Style Dictionary to generate HTML for your docs 👌

As ever, distracted by side-quests, it’s been really cool to keep my hand in the code side of things with a side project You never know if you’ll finish or launch it but it’s fun! Catching up with nextjs and supabase and learning loads Now, what was I _should’ve_ been doing?

Those small incremental changes to keep a side project growing 👌💥

Would like to hear more design system stories - how did your DS system get started? Who kicked it off and why?

Was thinking about helping out with Dry January, not doing it myself I’ll find a buddy and drink what they normally would so they don’t have to…that’s how it works, right?

Was going to a year in review but… Nah, I don’t enjoy doing that kind of thing but like reading other people’s so crack on 👍

Anytime someone asks me where accessibility fits into product development I find myself at a whiteboard pulling my hair out trying to figure out how to articulate that the answer is “everywhere”

Tokens Studio just keeps getting better! It's satisfying to see a workflow from the plugin, sync with Variables and Styles then push to a repo...which then can trigger Style Dictionary for various outputs Powerful stuff 🔥 ...and then you have the tokens visualisation tools that are easy to miss!

One thing I'd often say to people starting on design systems is to start with documentation It's about making that a part of what you do, having it a living space that reflects the current understanding. Also good practice to get your thoughts into words for an external audience and build awareness

Were you a MySpace user back in the day? What did you love about it?

Branching out beyond my vinyl reviews on IG! alt_version - extended mix altversion.substack.com?r=1qyxhz&utm...

How do you go about finding new music these days?

Go on, have some of that from Oslofjords earlier today 🌅

Carving out time for the music based side project, as a way to keep my hand in on the code side of things Good to know I’m still capable! Fun to see this idea take shape and spark 100s of other ideas Hope we get it to a place it could launch someday but it’s fun in the meantime