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Make Design Systems People Want to Use

Dan Mall

Your instructor
Dan Mall

Workshop includes:

  • Working examples to take away
  • Interactive sessions
  • Workshop recordings
  • Dedicated Q&A time
  • Smashing Certificate

Unfortunately, this workshop is fully sold out! But you can join the waiting list in case a ticket becomes available:

Workshop, 4×2h + Q&A • Mon & Tue, May 3–11 2021
09:00 – 11:30 AM PT (Pacific, US) • 18:00 – 20:30 CET (Europe)

You spent days, weeks, or even months putting together a library of common components that other teams could use. You sent it around to a few other teams to try out. And then… Crickets. No reply. No one used it. Wait, you did get one reply, but they said they needed a few other things that weren’t in your library.

“If you build it, they will come” doesn’t work here. It takes a specific process and mindset to make a design system that actually gets used. SuperFriendly founder and CEO Dan Mall will walk you through the difference between component libraries and true design systems, new workflows for tighter collaboration between designers and engineers, how to measure success, and a lot more.

Who Is This For?

This is a full workshop, delivered in four 2-hour long sessions with lots of time for Q&A. Who it’s for: managers, directors, and practitioners that want a deeper understanding of design systems better in order to better support their teams.

What will attendees learn in this workshop?

  • What’s a design system and what is not
  • The difference between design systems and component libraries**
  • How design systems work technically
  • Why most design systems don’t actually get used
  • The counterintuitive process for creating a design system that gets automatic buy-in
  • A new process for collaboration once you have a design system
  • How to measure the effectiveness of a design system, both generally as well as at your specific organization

Register for this workshop →

About Dan Mall

Dan Mall is a creative director and advisor from Philly. He’s the founder and CEO of SuperFriendly, a design collaborative that helps in-house teams make better digital products with design systems. Dan is an enthralled husband & dad, author of Pricing Design, and co-founder of SuperBooked, a service that helps you find work with a little help from your friends. He writes about design and other issues on http://twitter.com/danmall and on his industry-recognized site, danmall.me.

Time & Schedule

This workshop is split over four days. Our virtual doors open at 8:45, we start at 9 AM PT.

The workshop sessions will run on the following days:

  • Mon, May 3, 09:00 – 11:30 AM PT
  • Tue, May 4, 09:00 – 11:30 AM PT
  • Mon, May 10, 09:00 – 11:30 AM PT
  • Tue, May 11, 09:00 – 11:30 AM PT

Day 1

8:45 am PT
Virtual doors open, registration, chat and introductions.

9 am – 9:50 am
Lecture: True Design Systems

9:50 am – 10am
Break

10am – 10:15 am
Individual work

10:15 am – 10:45 am
Breakout rooms

10:45 am – 11:00 am
Reflection and sharing

11:00am–11:15am
Daily wrap-up + introduction of tomorrow’s topic

11:15am–11:30am
Open time

Day 2

8:45 am PT
Virtual doors open, registration, chat and introductions.

9 am – 9:50 am
Lecture: Pilots — The Best Way to Start and Grow a Design System

9:50 am – 10am
Break

10am – 10:15 am
Individual work

10:15 am – 10:45 am
Breakout rooms

10:45 am – 11:00 am
Reflection and sharing

11:00am–11:15am
Daily wrap-up + introduction of tomorrow’s topic

11:15am–11:30am
Open time

Day 3

8:45 am PT
Virtual doors open, registration, chat and introductions.

9 am – 9:50 am
Lecture: Process & Workflow with Design Systems

9:50 am – 10am
Break

10am – 10:15 am
Individual work

10:15 am – 10:45 am
Breakout rooms

10:45 am – 11:00 am
Reflection and sharing

11:00am–11:15am
Daily wrap-up + introduction of tomorrow’s topic

11:15am–11:30am
Open time

Day 4

8:45 am PT
Virtual doors open, registration, chat and introductions.

9 am – 9:50 am
Lecture: Measuring Success with Design Systems

9:50 am – 10am
Break

10am – 10:15 am
Individual work

10:15 am – 10:45 am
Breakout rooms

10:45 am – 11:00 am
Reflection and sharing

11:00am–11:15am
Daily wrap-up + introduction of tomorrow’s topic

11:15am–11:30am
Open time

Unfortunately, this workshop is fully sold out! But you can join the waiting list in case a ticket becomes available:


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