Insight

Design systems for founders who move fast

2026-01-146 min read

A lightweight system that keeps product design, engineering, and brand in sync for startups.

What a startup design system must do

It should reduce decision fatigue, keep the product consistent, and make UI work faster for both design and engineering.

If it slows you down or feels heavy, it is too big for the stage you are in.

Build the core set first

Start with typography, spacing, color tokens, and the small set of components used in every flow.

Buttons, inputs, tables, modals, badges, and empty states go a long way for early teams.

Ship documentation inside the product

A single internal page with component rules and usage examples is enough to keep the team aligned.

When the UI rules live near the work, people follow them.

How I support this

I help teams design the system and ship it as production-ready front-end components.

That keeps design intent and implementation in lockstep.

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