What is Design System Analysis?

Design systems are the backbone of consistent, scalable interfaces. Understanding how to analyze them from existing websites is a superpower for designers and developers. Let's break down what design systems are and how to learn from them.

What is a Design System?

A design system is a collection of reusable components, standards, and guidelines that define how a product looks and functions. Think of it as a "single source of truth" for design decisions.

Why Analyze Other Design Systems?

• 📚Learn from the best - See how top companies structure their systems
• ⚡Speed up development - Extract working patterns instead of starting from scratch
• 🔍Competitive research - Understand competitor design decisions
• 🎯Client work - Match an existing brand perfectly

Key Components to Analyze

1. Color Palette

Colors are the most visible part of any design system. Look for:

• • Primary brand color
• • Secondary/accent colors
• • Neutral grays for text and backgrounds
• • Semantic colors (success, error, warning)

2. Typography Scale

Great design systems use a consistent type scale. Common ratios include:

3. Spacing System

Consistent spacing creates visual rhythm. Most systems use a base unit (often 4px or 8px):

4. Border Radius

Sharp corners feel technical and precise. Rounded corners feel friendly and approachable. Most sites use 2-3 radius values consistently.

5. Shadows & Effects

Shadows create depth and hierarchy. Analyze the shadow blur, spread, and color to understand how they create elevation in the design.

How to Extract Design Systems

There are several ways to analyze a website's design system:

What to Do with Extracted Data

Once you have the design system data, you can:

• 📄 Generate CSS variables for your project
• ⚙️ Create a Tailwind CSS config
• 🎨 Export to Figma using design tokens
• 📊 Document in a style guide
• 🔄 Compare different websites side by side