Case Study

Building a Design System that Works at VMware

Tuesday, September 17th
14:15 – 15:00
Main Room

Design systems are a key component of a design centered enterprise, but they don't just happen. At VMware, we built and spread the open source Clarity Design System throughout the organization, starting from a grassroots movement that expanded into a fundamental piece of nearly all applications and products. It has changed the way we build and design product, increased the focus on design through the product development process, and even been adopted by other companies. Steve Martin says "Be so good they can't ignore you," and that is a core philosophy of the Clarity project, which has over a million downloads. In this case study, we'll review the evolution and journey of Clarity through today with specific focus on how it connected organizationally.

We've struggled and learned lessons along the way, but also fought through them with simple principles that have shaped the company, development processes, and user experiences. We will share what we learned about how to engage with decision makers, how to bridge conversations with design, development, and product teams, and how to run an open source project.