Co-create a taxonomy that reflects real shipping surfaces
Start by cataloguing the surfaces and states each team maintains. Marketing, product and brand should align on shared primitives before diving into component variants.
Organise components by jobs-to-be-done. This reduces the temptation to create slightly different versions for each use-case and keeps everyone anchored to the same intent.
Automate governance with design tokens and code parity
Define tokens for spacing, typographic scales, motion and accessibility thresholds. These become the single source of truth that designers and engineers reference when making updates.
Invest in automated linting and visual regression tests tied to your library. We integrate Chromatic, Storybook and design tokens pipelines so deviations are caught early.
Empower contribution without compromising quality
Establish contribution rituals: async proposals, paired reviews and office hours with the library maintainers. This keeps velocity high while preserving standards.
Document usage guidelines with real product examples. Annotations, do/don't patterns and code snippets help teams apply components confidently.
Key takeaway
The most successful libraries act like products: they have roadmaps, adoption metrics and feedback loops. Treat them that way and design debt stops accumulating faster than you can pay it down.
