The design system mindset: Principles, patterns, and real-world lessons | EvolveDigital Toronto 2026

This 61-minute panel discussion at EvolveDigital Toronto 2026 brought together four design system practitioners to explore the principles and real-world challenges of building successful design systems. Moderated by Guy Seagull, Director of Design and Design Systems at Thomson Reuters, the panel featured Arena Stoka (Senior UX Designer at Bell), Andrea Ang (Senior Manager of Design Systems at RBC), and David Cox (Senior Product Designer at Lyft focusing on accessibility and design systems). The conversation began by debunking the common misconception that design systems are merely component libraries.

As Arena noted, they are actually "a relationship between design and development, kind of like a contract that has to be maintained." Andrea emphasized the community work aspect, referencing Kevin Foster's observation that "if you build it, they won't come," highlighting the importance of adoption efforts. The panelists discussed crucial pre-development considerations, with Arena stressing the need to understand business direction and future requirements like multi-brand support to build proper token architecture.

David emphasized securing buy-in from stakeholders including marketing, technical teams, and "brand deities" before beginning work. Andrea highlighted understanding organizational maturity and structure as fundamental to success. When addressing component inclusion criteria, the panel shared the "rule of three teams" - components should serve at least three different teams to warrant inclusion in the core system.

However, they acknowledged political considerations, where high-visibility products might warrant exceptions for strategic adoption gains. The discussion of adoption failures revealed common challenges: designers detaching components for quick reviews, teams adopting without understanding maintenance responsibilities, and misaligned technical stacks. Arena implemented weekly check-ins to maintain relationships and track changes, while David advocated for a "let them learn" approach rather than policing.

The panelists emphasized education over enforcement, with Andrea noting the importance of understanding what teams are actually adopting versus what they think they're adopting. Accessibility emerged as a critical but misunderstood aspect of design systems. Andrea clarified that while components themselves might be accessible, "if the component itself is accessible, my composition will be accessible...

that's simply not true." David emphasized the value proposition of design systems for accessibility - providing consistency for end users and reducing cognitive load for product teams, while being clear about what accessibility coverage the system does and doesn't provide. The AI discussion revealed mixed feelings about commoditization of design work.

While expressing concerns about the "murder of craft," Andrea found it valuable that AI might force designers away from being "production monkeys" toward more critical thinking and human connection work. David worried about deterioration in craft care but emphasized that human decision-making remains crucial in how AI tools are employed. The panel concluded with practical advice on metrics beyond adoption rates, including monetary value calculations, passionate collaborator counts, and narrative-driven success stories.

Their final advice emphasized avoiding burnout, maintaining human connections, understanding organizational context, talking to users, and clearly communicating success stories. Throughout the discussion, the panelists reinforced that design systems are fundamentally about scaling human decision-making and organizational capabilities, not just technical components.