Design Systems Showcase: Naming (and renaming) a Design System

on YouTube ↗13m

" summary

Starts as a web design system called thread with a Sketch library and matching React components, launches in early 2018, then engineering bandwidth dries up and the name causes confusion across growing teams. Renamed to Karma product language, migrated files to Figma and Abstract, added a docs site and Slack channel, and engineering reinvests. Outcome: understanding goes up, confusion goes down, execs fund headcount growth 200% (from one designer to three) — concrete metrics and tools that decided the rename.

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" chapters (7)

1. 0:00Intro
2. 0:39Credit Karma
3. 1:27Research
4. 4:02Thread
5. 6:10Component naming
6. 8:47Choosing a new name
7. 11:20When to name your system

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