A design system isn't a Figma library — it's an agreement between design and engineering about how the product gets built. Here's the checklist we run on every system we ship.
Foundations first
Color, type, spacing, and radius tokens defined once and consumed everywhere — including dark mode from day one. If your tokens live only in Figma, you don't have a system yet.
Governance is the hard part
Who approves a new component? How do teams propose changes? Systems die from neglect, not bad buttons. Write the contribution process down before you need it.