Agent skill
design-system-lead
Expert design systems leadership covering component libraries, design tokens, documentation, and design-development collaboration. Use when architecting a design token system, building a component library, defining governance and contribution processes, measuring design system adoption, or generating cross-platform tokens (CSS, SCSS, iOS, Android).
Install this agent skill to your Project
npx add-skill https://github.com/borghei/Claude-Skills/tree/main/product-team/design-system-lead
Metadata
Additional technical details for this skill
- tags
-
design-systems components tokens documentation figma
- author
- borghei
- domain
- design-systems
- updated
- 1774915200
- version
- 1.0.0
- category
- product-design
SKILL.md
Design System Lead
The agent operates as a senior design system lead, delivering scalable component libraries, token architectures, governance processes, and adoption strategies for cross-functional product teams.
Workflow
- Assess maturity - Evaluate current design system maturity (Emerging, Defined, Managed, or Optimized). Audit existing patterns, inconsistencies, and custom components. Checkpoint: maturity level is documented with evidence.
- Define token architecture - Build a three-tier token structure: primitive (raw values), semantic (purpose-based aliases), and component (scoped to specific UI elements). Checkpoint: every semantic token references a primitive; no hardcoded values remain.
- Build component library - Design and implement components starting with primitives (Button, Input, Icon), then composites (Card, Modal, Dropdown), then patterns (Forms, Navigation, Tables). Checkpoint: each component has variants, sizes, states, props table, and accessibility requirements.
- Document everything - Create usage guidelines, code examples, do/don't rules, and accessibility notes for every component. Checkpoint: documentation covers installation, basic usage, all variants, and at least one accessibility note.
- Establish governance - Define the RFC-to-release contribution process. Set versioning strategy (SemVer). Checkpoint: contribution process is published and reviewed by both design and engineering leads.
- Measure adoption - Track coverage (% of products using DS), consistency (token compliance rate), efficiency (time to build), and quality (a11y score, bug reports). Checkpoint: adoption dashboard is updated monthly.
Design System Maturity Model
| Level | Characteristics | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| 1: Emerging | Ad-hoc styles, no standards | Establish foundations |
| 2: Defined | Documented guidelines | Component library |
| 3: Managed | Shared component library | Adoption, governance |
| 4: Optimized | Automated, measured | Continuous improvement |
Token Architecture
Three-tier token system (primitive -> semantic -> component):
{
"color": {
"primitive": {
"blue": {
"50": {"value": "#eff6ff"},
"500": {"value": "#3b82f6"},
"600": {"value": "#2563eb"},
"900": {"value": "#1e3a8a"}
}
},
"semantic": {
"primary": {"value": "{color.primitive.blue.600}"},
"primary-hover": {"value": "{color.primitive.blue.700}"},
"background": {"value": "{color.primitive.gray.50}"},
"text": {"value": "{color.primitive.gray.900}"}
},
"component": {
"button-primary-bg": {"value": "{color.semantic.primary}"},
"button-primary-text": {"value": "#ffffff"}
}
},
"spacing": {
"primitive": {"1": {"value": "4px"}, "2": {"value": "8px"}, "4": {"value": "16px"}, "8": {"value": "32px"}},
"semantic": {"component-padding": {"value": "{spacing.primitive.4}"}, "section-gap": {"value": "{spacing.primitive.8}"}}
},
"typography": {
"fontFamily": {"sans": {"value": "Inter, system-ui, sans-serif"}, "mono": {"value": "JetBrains Mono, monospace"}},
"fontSize": {"sm": {"value": "14px"}, "base": {"value": "16px"}, "lg": {"value": "18px"}, "xl": {"value": "20px"}}
}
}
Example: Cross-Platform Token Generation
// style-dictionary.config.js
module.exports = {
source: ['tokens/**/*.json'],
platforms: {
css: {
transformGroup: 'css',
buildPath: 'dist/css/',
files: [{ destination: 'variables.css', format: 'css/variables' }]
},
scss: {
transformGroup: 'scss',
buildPath: 'dist/scss/',
files: [{ destination: '_variables.scss', format: 'scss/variables' }]
},
ios: {
transformGroup: 'ios',
buildPath: 'dist/ios/',
files: [{ destination: 'StyleDictionaryColor.swift', format: 'ios-swift/class.swift' }]
},
android: {
transformGroup: 'android',
buildPath: 'dist/android/',
files: [{ destination: 'colors.xml', format: 'android/colors' }]
}
}
};
Component Library Structure
design-system/
+-- foundations/ (colors, typography, spacing, elevation, motion, grid)
+-- components/
| +-- primitives/ (Button, Input, Icon)
| +-- composites/ (Card, Modal, Dropdown)
| +-- patterns/ (Forms, Navigation, Tables)
+-- layouts/ (page templates, content layouts)
+-- documentation/ (getting-started, design guidelines, code guidelines)
+-- assets/ (icons, illustrations, logos)
Component Specification: Button
## Variants
- Primary: main action
- Secondary: supporting action
- Tertiary: low-emphasis action
- Destructive: dangerous/irreversible action
## Sizes
- Small: 32px height, 8px/12px padding
- Medium: 40px height (default), 10px/16px padding
- Large: 48px height, 12px/24px padding
## States
Default -> Hover -> Active -> Focus -> Disabled -> Loading
## Props
| Prop | Type | Default | Description |
|-----------|-------------|-----------|------------------|
| variant | string | 'primary' | Visual style |
| size | string | 'medium' | Button size |
| disabled | boolean | false | Disabled state |
| loading | boolean | false | Loading state |
| leftIcon | ReactNode | - | Leading icon |
| onClick | function | - | Click handler |
## Accessibility
- Minimum touch target: 44x44px
- Visible focus ring on keyboard navigation
- aria-label required for icon-only buttons
- aria-busy="true" when loading
Example: Button Implementation (React + CVA)
import { cva, type VariantProps } from 'class-variance-authority';
const buttonVariants = cva(
'inline-flex items-center justify-center rounded-md font-medium transition-colors focus-visible:outline-none focus-visible:ring-2 disabled:pointer-events-none disabled:opacity-50',
{
variants: {
variant: {
primary: 'bg-primary text-primary-foreground hover:bg-primary/90',
secondary: 'bg-secondary text-secondary-foreground hover:bg-secondary/80',
destructive: 'bg-destructive text-destructive-foreground hover:bg-destructive/90',
},
size: {
sm: 'h-8 px-3 text-sm',
md: 'h-10 px-4 text-sm',
lg: 'h-12 px-6 text-base',
},
},
defaultVariants: { variant: 'primary', size: 'md' },
}
);
Governance: Contribution Process
1. REQUEST - Create RFC describing problem and proposed component/change
2. REVIEW - Design review + engineering review + accessibility review
3. BUILD - Figma component + code implementation + unit tests + visual regression
4. DOCUMENT - API docs + usage guidelines + Storybook stories
5. RELEASE - SemVer bump + changelog + announcement
Versioning Strategy
| Change Type | Version Bump | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Breaking | MAJOR | Component API change, token rename |
| New feature | MINOR | New component, new variant, new token |
| Bug fix | PATCH | Style fix, docs update, perf improvement |
Adoption Metrics Dashboard
Design System Health
Adoption: 82% (12/15 products)
Component Usage: 78% (45 components)
Token Compliance: 95%
Overrides: 23 (down from 38)
Efficiency
Avg time to build new feature: 3.2 days (was 5.1)
Custom components created this quarter: 4 (was 12)
Scripts
# Token generator
python scripts/token_gen.py --source tokens.json --output dist/
# Component scaffolder
python scripts/component_scaffold.py --name DatePicker --category composite
# Adoption analyzer
python scripts/adoption_analyzer.py --repos repos.yaml
# Visual regression test
python scripts/visual_regression.py --baseline main --compare feature/new-button
Reference Materials
references/token_architecture.md- Token system designreferences/component_patterns.md- Component best practicesreferences/governance.md- Contribution guidelinesreferences/figma_setup.md- Figma library management
Tool Reference
token_gen.py
Generates a three-tier design token system (primitive, semantic, component) from a brand color. Supports CSS, SCSS, and JSON output. Includes WCAG contrast ratio checking.
| Flag | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
--color, -c |
string | #0066CC | Brand color in hex |
--format, -f |
choice | summary | Output format: json, css, scss, summary |
--tiers, -t |
choice | all | Token tiers: all, primitive, semantic, component |
--output, -o |
string | (stdout) | Output directory for generated files |
--json |
flag | False | Shortcut for --format json |
python scripts/token_gen.py --color "#0066CC"
python scripts/token_gen.py --color "#0066CC" --format css --output dist/
python scripts/token_gen.py --color "#8B4513" --tiers primitive --json
component_scaffold.py
Generates component documentation scaffolds with props tables, variants, states, accessibility requirements, anatomy, usage guidelines, and code examples.
| Flag | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
--name, -n |
string | (required) | Component name in PascalCase |
--category, -c |
choice | (required) | Category: primitive, composite, pattern |
--variants, -v |
string | (category default) | Comma-separated variant names |
--sizes, -s |
string | sm,md,lg | Comma-separated size names |
--json |
flag | False | Output as JSON |
python scripts/component_scaffold.py --name Button --category primitive
python scripts/component_scaffold.py --name DataTable --category pattern --variants "default,compact,striped"
python scripts/component_scaffold.py --name Modal --category composite --json
adoption_analyzer.py
Analyzes design system adoption across products by evaluating component coverage, token compliance, custom overrides, and accessibility scores. Produces a health dashboard with per-product and portfolio-level analysis.
| Flag | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
input |
positional | (required) | CSV file with adoption data or "sample" |
--threshold, -t |
int | 75 | Health score threshold for flagging |
--json |
flag | False | Output as JSON |
CSV columns: product, total_components, ds_components, total_tokens, ds_tokens, custom_overrides, a11y_score, last_audit
python scripts/adoption_analyzer.py sample
python scripts/adoption_analyzer.py adoption_data.csv
python scripts/adoption_analyzer.py adoption_data.csv --threshold 80 --json
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Cause | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| Token overrides in production | Teams bypassing design system | Run adoption_analyzer monthly; add lint rules for hardcoded values |
| Inconsistent component behavior across products | Version drift | Enforce SemVer; automate DS dependency updates in CI |
| Low adoption in older products | Migration cost perceived as too high | Prioritize high-traffic pages; create migration guides per product |
| Token naming conflicts | No naming convention enforced | Adopt CTI (Category-Type-Item) naming; document in governance |
| Component API breaking changes | Insufficient versioning discipline | Use codemods for migration; deprecation period of 2 minor versions |
| Designers and developers out of sync | Figma/code token drift | Use Tokens Studio plugin; sync on every release |
| Contribution bottleneck | RFC review queue backed up | Set SLA for reviews (48h); rotate reviewers weekly |
Success Criteria
| Criterion | Target | How to Measure |
|---|---|---|
| Component coverage | >80% across all products | adoption_analyzer component coverage metric |
| Token compliance | >90% (no hardcoded values) | adoption_analyzer token compliance metric |
| Custom overrides | Trending downward quarter-over-quarter | Track total overrides in adoption report |
| Time to build new feature | 30%+ reduction vs pre-DS baseline | Compare sprint velocity before/after DS adoption |
| Accessibility score | >85% across all products | adoption_analyzer a11y score |
| Contribution rate | 2+ external contributions per quarter | Track merged RFCs from non-core-team members |
| Design-dev handoff time | <1 day for standard components | Measure time from design approval to code PR |
Scope & Limitations
In scope:
- Three-tier token architecture design and generation
- Component library structure and documentation scaffolding
- Adoption tracking and health reporting
- Cross-platform token export (CSS, SCSS, JSON)
- Governance process definition
- WCAG contrast ratio validation
Out of scope:
- Visual regression testing execution (use Chromatic, Percy, or BackstopJS)
- Figma plugin development (use Tokens Studio for token sync)
- Runtime theme switching implementation (framework-specific)
- Icon library creation and SVG optimization
- Motion design and animation library
- Component implementation code (scaffold generates docs, not runtime code)
Integration Points
| Tool / Platform | Integration Method | Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| Figma / Tokens Studio | Import token_gen JSON output | Sync design tokens between design and code |
| Style Dictionary | Use token_gen JSON as source | Build multi-platform tokens (iOS, Android, web) |
| Storybook | component_scaffold output as stories template | Auto-generate component documentation |
| Chromatic / Percy | Pair with component_scaffold test checklist | Visual regression testing pipeline |
| CI/CD | adoption_analyzer --json in pipeline |
Automated adoption health checks on PRs |
| Tailwind / CSS-in-JS | token_gen CSS/JSON export | Theme configuration from design tokens |
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