I’m John Harrison. I help financial organisations take control of their design systems.

Directional spacing tokens

Spacing tokens should tell you what the space is doing, not just how much space there is. Six ways to express spacing instead of a flat scale; the token tells you whether the space is inside a box or between boxes, and which axis it runs on. This page is built with them: press i and hover anything.

Read the full taxonomy

Signature moments

A design system’s job is to take the simple decisions away so designers can spend their energy on the hard ones. Plenty never get the chance, and the product ends up correct but forgettable. That isn’t the system’s fault. Fun can be part of the system, and this site’s 404 page is my working example.

Read why fun belongs in the system

The three-month audit framework

Most design systems don’t fail because they’re missing components. They fail because nobody is sure what’s used, what’s trusted, or how to maintain them. Three months, three phases: a simple process for small to medium sized companies.

1. 01

   Understand and diagnose

   Month one. Interviews, a usage audit, and an honest account of what gets used. No prescriptions before the diagnosis.

2. 02

   Simplify and streamline

   Month two. Fix the core components first, merge the redundant ones, and write documentation people will actually read.

3. 03

   Empower and embed

   Month three. Workshops, templates, a maintenance doc and a roadmap. The team runs the system after I’ve gone.

Read the full framework