Design systems that actually scale

A design system is only useful if teams actually adopt it. Beauty is not enough; the system has to be faster than reinventing.

Start with tokens, not components Colors, spacing, typography, and radii as tokens define your brand. Components are only their assembly.

Semantic, not visual Name tokens by role (`surface`, `primary`, `muted`) rather than value (`gray-900`). Rebranding becomes a config change, not a rewrite.

Governance is a product Someone owns the system. Someone reviews contributions. Without that, drift wins in six months.