theexperiencecompany Creating Design Systems
Reverse-engineer a codebase's implicit visual language into a practical, implementation-ready style guide that lets you (or any agent) one-shot new UI components without configuration or guesswork.
When to Use
- User asks for a design system, style guide, or DESIGN.md
- You need to build UI in an unfamiliar codebase and there's no design doc
- Existing UI is inconsistent and needs rationalization into standards
- You want to one-shot new components that look native to the app
Analysis: What to Read
Read actual source files — don't guess from file names.
Token Sources (read first)
| What | Where to look |
|---|---|
| Colors, radius, shadows, fonts | globals.css, tailwind.config.*, CSS custom properties |
| Component library config | components.json (Shadcn), theme files, provider wrappers |
| Base component variants | button.tsx, input.tsx, card.tsx — the primitives |
Pattern Sources (read second)
| What | Where to look |
|---|---|
| Real token usage | 3-5 feature components that ship to users (not storybook demos) |
| Recurring class combos | Grep for rounded-, bg-, text- — find the actual palette in use |
| Interactive states | Button, input, dropdown — how hover/focus/disabled/error look |
| Status/semantic colors | Badges, chips, alerts — how success/warning/error/info are expressed |
| Animation patterns | Grep for animate-, transition-, motion imports |
| Icon system | How icons are imported, sized, colored |
| Toast/notification | Which library, how it's configured, how it's called |
| Overlay usage | When dialog vs sheet vs popover vs tooltip |
| Depth/elevation | Shadows vs background layering vs blur — how the project creates depth |
| Glass/blur patterns | Grep for backdrop-blur, bg-opacity, /40 — some apps use transparency as a design tool |
| Gradients | Grep for gradient, linear-gradient — decorative moments, hero sections |
| Text overflow | How long strings are handled — truncate, line-clamp-*, max-w-[] patterns |
| Class composition | What utility the project uses for conditional classes (cn, clsx, cva, tv) |
| Landing vs app UI | Some codebases have two visual registers — check if marketing pages use different fonts, spacing, or tone |
What NOT to Read
- Git history (stale, not current state)
- Test files (test patterns, not design patterns)
- Build config (not design-relevant)
- Backend code (unless it emits UI — like OpenUI prompts)
Structure: What to Document
Order matters — philosophy sets the mental model, tokens are the vocabulary, patterns show how to compose.
1. Philosophy — 3-5 bullets. The "why" behind visual choices.
2. Colors — Brand tokens, semantic variables, neutral scale, status colors.
3. Typography — Font families and when each is used. Heading scale.
4. Spacing — Common values and what each is for.
5. Border Radius — Decision table: which radius for which context.
6. Shadows — When shadow vs flat. Usually a short section.
7. Icons — Library, import pattern, sizing convention.
8. Animations — Available classes, transition defaults, easing, motion library.
9. Toast — Library name, how to call it, don't configure it.
10. Styling Tools — cn(), cva, or whatever the project uses for class composition.
11. Component Library — What's available. Overlay hierarchy (dialog vs sheet vs popover).
12. Card/Surface Contract — The reusable pattern for data display. Include a template.
13. Forms — Field pattern, input states, error display.
14. Loading States — Skeleton, spinner, empty state patterns.
15. Interactive States — Hover, focus, active, disabled, error, hover-reveal.
16. Dark/Light Mode — How theming works, what switches and what doesn't.
17. Responsiveness — Breakpoints and what changes at each.
Not every project needs every section. Skip what doesn't apply. Never pad.
The Refinement Loop
A design system doc is never right on the first pass. Plan for three.
Pass 1: Extract Everything
Dump every token, pattern, and convention you find. Over-include. Get the raw material down.
Pass 2: Remove Redundancy
Compare against existing docs (rules files, component-level CLAUDE.md files, READMEs). If something is already documented elsewhere, either:
- Remove it and point to the source, or
- Move it here and remove it from there (if this is the better home)
Never have the same rule in two files. Pick one owner.
Pass 3: Remove Implementation Details
This is the critical pass. Ask of every line: "Is this design language or is this how a specific component works?"
Keep (design language):
- "Outer cards use
rounded-2xl bg-zinc-800 p-4" — a reusable token/pattern - "Status colors use
/10opacity backgrounds" — a system-wide rule - "Use
font-seriffor editorial headings only" — a design decision - A card template with status colors — a reusable starting point
Remove (implementation details):
- Component architecture trees (
TextBubble → ThinkingBubble → MarkdownRenderer) - JSX layout diagrams of specific components
- Developer workflows ("register in TOOL_RENDERERS, add to tool_fields")
- Raw config blocks (full Toaster JSX, HeroUI theme override CSS)
- Specific container widths tied to one component ("PDF container: 330x150px")
- How a specific feature's state management works
The test: If someone building a completely different feature wouldn't use this info, it's implementation detail — move it to a component-level doc or delete it.
File Placement
One Source of Truth
Put the design system in one file at the repo root: DESIGN.md.
Other files should point to it, not duplicate it:
# .claude/rules/design.md (or equivalent rules file)
See DESIGN.md at the repo root for the full design system.
# In CLAUDE.md (or equivalent project instructions)
## Design System
See [DESIGN.md](./DESIGN.md) for the full design system guide.
Separation of Concerns
| File | Contains | Does NOT contain |
|---|---|---|
DESIGN.md |
Visual language, tokens, patterns, templates | Component internals, developer workflows |
Code rules file (e.g. typescript.md) |
Code standards, import rules, type rules | Design tokens (just point to DESIGN.md) |
| Component-level docs | Architecture, registration steps, render logic | Design tokens (inherit from DESIGN.md) |
If a code rules file has a Styling section, keep it to one line: "TailwindCSS exclusively — see DESIGN.md for tokens and patterns."
The Boundary Between Code Rules and Design System
Some things feel like code standards but are actually design decisions. When in doubt: if it governs how things look, it's design system; if it governs how code is written, it's code rules.
| Belongs in DESIGN.md | Belongs in code rules |
|---|---|
cn() / cva usage patterns (class composition is a styling tool) |
"Use import type for type-only imports" |
Card contract: rounded-2xl bg-zinc-800 p-4 |
"Named exports only, no default exports" |
Status color pattern: bg-emerald-400/10 text-emerald-400 |
"No any type — use unknown and narrow" |
| "Never add borders to cards" | "TailwindCSS exclusively, no inline styles" |
| Animation timing defaults | Import ordering rules |
A common mistake is putting the card contract in the code rules file because it "looks like a coding pattern." It's a visual pattern — move it to the design system and point to it from code rules.
Card/Surface Contract
Most apps have a dominant card pattern for displaying structured data. Document it as a contract with a copy-paste template. This is the highest-value section — it's what enables one-shotting new components.
What to include:
- The exact classes for outer container, inner items, headers, body text, meta text
- Hard constraints (e.g. "no borders", "always rounded-2xl")
- Status color application (the
/10opacity pattern or whatever the project uses) - A ready-to-use template component with all patterns applied
- A checklist to verify before committing
Example contract (from a dark-first app):
Outer: rounded-2xl bg-zinc-800 p-4
Inner: rounded-2xl bg-zinc-900 p-3
Header: text-sm font-semibold text-zinc-100 mb-3
Title: text-sm font-medium text-zinc-200
Body: text-xs text-zinc-400
Meta: text-xs text-zinc-500
Gap: space-y-2
Status: bg-{color}-400/10 text-{color}-400
The template should be a real component someone can copy, rename, and fill in — not pseudocode.
Common Mistakes
Being too specific
"The PDF container is 330x150px" — this is one component's spec, not design language. The design system should say "use rounded-2xl for cards" and let each component decide its own dimensions.
Duplicating across files
The card contract appears in DESIGN.md, also in the TypeScript rules, also in a component-level doc. Now they'll drift. Pick one home.
Documenting what the code already says
Don't list every Shadcn component's props — that's in the component file. Document when to use which (the overlay hierarchy) and what they look like in this project (the customizations).
Mixing design language with developer workflow
"Register the component in TOOL_RENDERERS" is a workflow step. "All data cards use rounded-2xl bg-zinc-800" is design language. The design system file should only contain the latter.
Skipping the philosophy section
Without it, the tokens are just a list of values with no rationale. "Flat depth — never borders, only background layering" explains why there are no border classes anywhere and prevents someone from adding them.
Writing a design system that requires reading the design system
If someone needs to read 800 lines before they can build a card, the doc is too long. Front-load the card template and checklist. Put reference material (full color tables, all animation classes) after the actionable patterns.