Kyle Kozlowski · 15 July 2026 · 1 min read

Design systems before screens

Most of the UI work that actually holds up happens before anyone opens Figma.

If a layout needs a caption to explain what's important, the hierarchy hasn't done its job yet.

Tokens first

Type scale, spacing rhythm, and a small colour palette get decided before any individual screen does. Everything downstream inherits from that.

Then screens

Once the system exists, individual screens stop being design decisions and start being assembly — which is exactly how it should feel by the tenth screen, not the first.