On Theme: Design Systems in Depth
Elyse Holladay
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Recent Episodes
S2E5 Design system quality has a business case now (and it's ... AI?), with Murphy Trueman
Murphy Trueman joins me to dig into something most design system teams already know but haven't wanted to say out loud: your design system isn't ready for AI. Ambiguous tokens, undocumented rules,…
S2E4 Brand imagery & color swatches: lessons from building for e-comm, with Maya Hampton
Maya draws on her experience as a design systems PM at both REI and lululemon to explore what makes ecommerce design systems distinct. From the component library decisions to supporting editorial…
S2 What to do with AI on your design system right now (and make a better way of working)
There’s so much happening in the world of design systems: so much noise, so many new tools, and so much pressure. Where to start? Building on what I wrote on the Zeroheight blog, in this minisode…
S2E3 What comes after the infinite canvas? with Robin Cannon
Y’all know I am fully bought in on design-with-code tools, so I loved this episode with Robin Cannon, VP of Product at Knapsack and former IBM Carbon and J.P. Morgan Salt design system exec, on why…
S2E2 Five 2026 Predictions for Design Systems with Noelle Lansford
Noelle joins me again for some 2026 predictions trend encapsulations, and we try to unpack the absolute madness of the first two months of 2026. 1️⃣ Designing with code is in, making pictures of…
S2E1 2025 Predictions Recap with Noelle Lansford
My very first minisode of the entire podcast was some 2025 predictions, and a lot has changed. (Honestly, what was I thinking trying to make predictions in the era of AI? fml) Noelle Lansford joined…
S1 On Theme S1 Minisode 4: Converge conference 2025 Recap
I'm back from Zeroheight's Converge conference in Bristol, UK, with my recap and thoughts. In this minisode, find out my three major themes from the event: reducing complexity, shifting towards code…
S1 On Theme S1 Minisode 3: This summer's AI vibe shift and conference news!
Surprise minisode! In this quick episode, hear a few ways AI tools are useful for design systems now, my new favorite design-eng handoff tool, and three can't-miss industry events this fall. 📲…
S1E17 Creativity and design system leadership in the age of AI, with Natalya Shelburne — #17
Chat, this is the last episode of season one! Thank you for listening and supporting the show! There's no better way to wrap up, IMO, than an optimistic and curious exploration of what it means to be…
S1E16 But "design systems as infrastructure" is boring, with Sam Anderson — #16
Y’all, I’ll be honest. Some days, I’m scared and nervous and uncomfortable with AI’s emergence, and implications, too. But I am also curiously optimistic, and more importantly — I don’t want to use…
S1E15 Naming is hard, but have you tried working with people? with Guy Segal — #15
Guy Segal joins Elyse to unpack the messy, complicated world of… people. Guy shares practical strategies from his experience at Thomson Reuters, including the powerful "pre-mortem" exercise he used…
S1E14 The Four Quadrants of Design System Impact, with Ben Callahan — #14
Ben Callahan joins Elyse for a fun conversation on creating impact with design systems. Ben shares insights from his consulting experience, discussing common pitfalls like organizations expecting a…
S1E13 Shipping new ways of working to a classic organization with the One UPS system, with Marcela Rodriguez Joos — #13
Marcela Rodriguez Joos shares the story behind the One UPS project, a massive effort to modernize and unify UPS’ brand and digital experiences through a new design system. Marcela reveals how a “why…
S1E12 The flaws of the “accessibility is built in to the design system” argument, with Daniel Henderson-Ede — #12
Ever had a team come to you after an a11y audit like, "but I used the design system, why does my product have accessibility defects??" Daniel Henderson-Ede, one of design systems' leading…
S1E11 Help, I'm starting a new design system job! with Amy Ogg — #11
This one’s a little bit different than some of the projects and topics that we've had on the podcast so far — we’re talking about starting a new role. I think it's one of the hardest things that we…
S1E10 Hand off the API: a design & build workflow for components, with Jeff Pelletier — #10
Design systems aren’t just about components—they’re about how teams work together to build better UI. Jeff Pelletier, a frontend engineer with a design background, joins the show to talk about…
S1E9 Bye Purple! A redesign powered by local & global design system layers at Spotify, with Smith Schwartz & Tyce Clee — #09
Spotify’s ad platform just got a serious glow-up, and Smith and Tyce are here to tell us how they pulled it off. Smith Schwartz, Product Design Manager, and Tyce Clee, Engineering Manager, walk us…
S1E8 What happens when your system can’t support your flagship product?, with Adriana Morales — #08
Adriana Morales from HEB (aka the best grocery store) poses a tricky question for the show: what happens when your design system can't support all your products, or your flagship product? Hashtag…
S1E7 I’m a design system consumer now: lessons from the other side, with Beau Ulrey — #07
I invited Beau to the podcast because of his great Medium articles on design systems... but he's not working on a system team right now! Beau shares his experiences on both sides of the—fence?…
S1E6 Building a multi-brand joint venture design system for BetMGM, with ToniAnn Drenckhahn — #06
ToniAnn joins the show to share her experience building a multi-brand design system for BetMGM and Entain's joint venture. This episode is our first project deep dive and it's full of legacy…
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On Theme: Design Systems in Depth has published 26 episodes since October 2024, covering topics in Arts, Design.
On Theme: Design Systems in Depth is currently declining with new episodes every 2 weeks. Average episode length is 50m.
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