Design systems that
actually ship

Research, information architecture, interaction, visual, system engineering and accessibility — treated as one discipline with engineering-grade rigor. Tokens, primitives and accessibility in CI, not a Figma library that decays.

Design system layers: tokens, semantic, components, themes design.system tokens → ui primitive · semantic · component · theme Primitive tokens colour · spacing · motion · radii · font Semantic tokens --c-brand · --c-surface · --c-text · --motion-fast Components button · field · modal · table · nav · toast Themes · platforms light · dark · high-contrast · brand-b · ios · android · web

CAPABILITIES

Six design surfaces under one engineering-led studio

Research, IA, interaction, visual, system and accessibility — delivered as a single discipline so every artefact lands in code with the token contract and a11y baked in.

01

Research & discovery

User interviews, JTBD, usability studies, diary studies, competitive audits, quantitative behavioural analysis.

02

Information architecture

Taxonomies, navigation, search, URL structure, content models, sitemap surgery, findability audits with tree tests.

03

Interaction design

Flows, wireframes, prototypes, micro-interactions, state machines, motion and feedback language.

04

Visual systems

Typography, colour, spacing, grid, iconography, illustration style, brand-to-product translation.

05

Design system engineering

Tokens, themes, primitives, components, patterns, multi-brand + multi-platform distribution with CI.

06

Accessibility & quality

WCAG 2.2 AA, assistive tech testing, colour and motion safety, reduced-motion and dark-mode parity.

TOKEN ARCHITECTURE

Five layers that keep a system honest

The token structure that survives a rebrand, a new platform and a fresh designer. Primitive, semantic, component, motion and theme — each with a distinct job and no colour values leaking into components.

LayerExampleRole
Primitive--c-violet-500: #7B3FE4Raw values · colour / spacing / motion
Semantic--c-brand: var(--c-violet-500)Meaning across themes and products
Component--btn-primary-bg: var(--c-brand)Binds component to semantic context
Motion--motion-duration-fast: 120msAnimation contract respecting reduced motion
Themelight · dark · high-contrast · brand-bToggle-able palettes built from semantic layer
Accessibility is not a phase

Accessibility must live in CI, not on a pre-launch checklist. axe-core in the pipeline, assistive-tech in design reviews and contrast tokens that fail builds when broken.

Open QA and release governance ↗

STACK

Research · design · system · accessibility

Default toolkit across the four design lanes. Substitutions driven by incumbent design platform, the component library's host framework and a11y audit obligations.

Research

  • Maze · Dovetail · Great Question
  • UsabilityHub · UserTesting
  • Hotjar · FullStory · PostHog
  • HEART + SUS instruments

Design

  • Figma · Figma variables
  • FigJam · Miro for discovery
  • Principle · Rive for motion
  • Version-controlled source-of-truth

System · delivery

  • Tokens: Style Dictionary · Terrazzo
  • React · Vue · Solid primitives
  • Storybook · Histoire + Chromatic
  • Radix · Ark · Base UI primitives

Accessibility

  • axe-core in CI · Pa11y
  • Manual AT checks (VoiceOver · NVDA)
  • Contrast + motion linting
  • WCAG 2.2 AA audit packs

Adjacent disciplines

Research · system · a11y

Run design like a product discipline, not an afterthought

Share your current design language, component inventory, accessibility obligations and the three hardest screens in the product. We come back with a system-audit, token plan and 90-day migration proposal inside ten working days.