Design systems always get framed the same way.

Consistency. Efficiency. Scalability.

All true.

But honestly, that’s not the part that matters most.

The Real Value of a Design System Is Momentum

A good design system doesn’t just make things consistent.

It makes things move.

Faster decisions. Faster builds. Less back-and-forth.

When I was working on Motto (by Aspen Dental), the biggest impact of the CRM email component library wasn’t visual consistency.

It was the fact that:

• teams didn’t have to start from scratch

• decisions were already baked in

• things could actually get out the door

👉 Link “Motto (by Aspen Dental)”

Without a System, Everything Becomes a Debate

If you don’t have a system, every project turns into:

• “should this button look like this?”

• “what spacing should we use here?”

• “is this on brand?”

And none of those are actually high-value questions.

They slow everything down.

I’ve seen this on teams where:

• design is constantly reinventing

• dev is constantly guessing

• and nothing quite matches

You end up spending time on things that should already be solved.

Consistency Isn’t the Goal — Clarity Is

Consistency is a byproduct.

The real goal is clarity.

• clarity for designers

• clarity for developers

• clarity for stakeholders

A system answers questions before they’re asked.

So people can focus on:

• solving problems

• not redefining patterns

What I Learned Working Across Banter and Motto

Working on both Banter and Motto, I saw two sides of this.

With Banter, the challenge was balancing a strong brand with a scalable digital experience.

With Motto, it was more operational — building a system that could support ongoing marketing, CRM, and content needs.

Different contexts, same underlying need:

👉 a shared language that everyone understands

A Good System Still Leaves Room for Design

This is where a lot of systems go wrong.

They become too rigid.

Everything starts to feel:

• templated

• repetitive

• stripped of personality

A good system shouldn’t limit design.

It should:

• handle the predictable parts

• so you can focus on what actually needs thinking

Especially in brand-driven work (like Banter), you need room for expression.

The system should support that — not flatten it.

Design Systems Are Really About Decision-Making

At their core, design systems are just a way to make decisions once — and reuse them.

• what a button means

• how hierarchy works

• how components behave

Instead of:

• re-deciding

• re-arguing

• re-designing

over and over again

Where Systems Break Down

The biggest failure I’ve seen isn’t bad design.

It’s lack of adoption.

If a system:

• isn’t easy to use

• isn’t documented clearly

• doesn’t reflect real needs

People won’t use it.

And then you’re back to square one.

What I Aim For in a System

When I think about design systems now, I don’t think:

“does this look consistent?”

I think:

• does this make the team faster?

• does this reduce unnecessary decisions?

• does this still allow for good design?

If the answer is yes, the system is doing its job.

The Real Outcome

A good design system doesn’t just create consistency.

It creates alignment.

Across:

• design

• development

• marketing

• product

And that’s what actually makes good work possible at scale.