At Cantarus we have created MemConnect, an app platform that helps online communities connect and thrive. To be able to increase the quality of our apps, reduce their delivery time and make them more maintainable we created the MemConnect Design System.
What is a Design System?
A design system provides the foundations, structure and principles that lets a whole team create a user interface (UI), which provides a coordinated and effective user experience (UX).
Our design system is made up of a UI element library, master flows and the accompanying documentation – they are living, ongoing and evolving documents that are constantly expanding and being optimised.
We create frictionless and enjoyable app experiences for thousands of users by designing with compassion and awareness.
Examples of designs systems
The design system that inspired our team the most was Material, created by Google, being app based it was also the most relevant one to our project.
Other leading design systems include:
Polaris by Shopify
Atlassian Design System
Lightning by Salesforce
And if you enjoyed those, you might just get lost in this link to a catalogue of Design Systems.
What makes our design system unique?
Creating a design system for MemConnect has unique challenges. Unlike brand specific design systems or pattern libraries such as Airbnb or MailChimp, which can be based off one brand style, our system needs to be robust and flexible enough to adapt to the needs of different clients.
Many app designs are created by designers simply following the latest style trends, trends like 3D or Glassmorphism which can be inappropriate, inaccessible and overused. What we are creating is more than just good looks. It is possible to have an easy to use, beautiful, on brand app backed up by the knowledge of industry experts in both membership, and design.
Claudia Roberts is UX & Design Consultant at Cantarus
