Design System API: Bridging Design and Development
Code and design for a design system manager, built with Javascript, MongoDB, and deployed on Railway A comprehensive API-driven solution for design token management
Team
1 Designer/Developer
Role & Contributions
Code, UX Design, and Design System
Timeline
Jan - Jun 2025
tl;dr
Design Token API: Bridging Design and Development
Design teams were losing hours manually synchronizing design tokens between design tools and code, leading to visual inconsistencies and frustrated developers. I built an API-first design token manager that serves as a single source of truth, enabling teams to sync tokens in minutes instead of hours while maintaining proper governance through role-based access control.
The system eliminates the copy-paste workflows that cause design drift by providing both a user-friendly web interface and programmatic API access. Admins can manage tokens at scale, developers can integrate directly into build pipelines, and contributors can safely browse and reference tokens without breaking production systems. The result: faster workflows, fewer inconsistencies, and design systems that actually scale with organizational growth.
Key Impact: Transformed design token management from manual documentation maintenance into automated infrastructure that bridges design decisions and development implementation.
From Component Chaos to Design System Infrastructure
The design system API transformed how the team maintains design consistency, reducing synchronization overhead while enabling cross-functional collaboration.
Streamlined Workflow
Teams can now synchronize design tokens in minutes rather than hours
Reduced Inconsistencies
Single source of truth eliminates token drift between design and code.
Enhanced Collaboration
Role-based access enables safe contribution from all team members
Features Delivered
Comprehensive design system features delivered through robust token management and developer-friendly integration
Comprehensive Token Operations
- Complete lifecycle management with robust validation preventing data corruption
- Intelligent bulk operations supporting large-scale token migrations
- Flexible export capabilities maintaining consistency across different workflow requirements
Developer-Friendly Integration
- REST API designed specifically for build pipeline integration and automation
- Structured data formats compatible with existing design token toolchains
- Comprehensive error handling that supports debugging and reliable automated processes
Scalable Information Architecture
- Multi-field text search across token names, categories, and descriptions
- Dynamic category filters and text search work together in real-time for precise results
- Scalable search performance with MongoDB indexing maintains speed as token libraries scale
Advanced Query and Sorting
- Search functionality that performs well with large token libraries
- Category-based organization supporting intuitive token discovery
- Visual preview system enabling quick validation of design decisions
The Problem Space
Teams often struggle with:
Audiences Across Dev + Design
Eliminating the gaps between design & development.
Design System Managers
Need centralized control over token definitions and the ability to collaborate with development teams.
Frontend Developers
Require programmatic access to design tokens and automated synchronization with their build processes.
Design Contributors
Need view-only access to understand current token specifications and their usage contexts.
Requirements
Through extensive stakeholder interviews across design and development teams, plus competitive analysis of existing design system tools, I identified the critical gaps between how teams want to work and what current solutions actually support:
Administrative Control
System managers need full CRUD capabilities and governance oversight.
Developer Integration
API-first approach for seamless integration into existing build processes. Teams needed programmatic access that could plug directly into their deployment pipelines.
Team Collaboration
Role-based permissions supporting different contribution levels without compromising system integrity. The solution needed to support browsing and reference use cases without enabling destructive actions.
Data Portability
Import/export functionality that respects existing team workflows and tool investments. Any new system needed to integrate with these existing assets rather than requiring complete workflow replacement.
Success Metrics & KPIs
Goals and metrics we established to measure success
UX Metrics
- Time to First Value → Setup to first success
- Task Completion Rate → Successful workflows
- Adoption Rate → Team and individual usage
Business Impact Metrics
- Development Velocity → Faster implementation
- Design Consistency → Reduced variations
- Team Collaboration → Cross-functional efficiency
System Performance Metrics
- API Response Time → Speed and reliability
- Uptime → Service availability
- Search Accuracy → Relevant results
Research, Strategy, and Implementation
The design process progressed systematically from user research and competitive analysis through strategic planning to technical implementation, grounding every design decision in validated user needs.
API Development
The database structure was designed in MongoDB to store design tokens and users.
RESTful API Implementation
A comprehensive REST API was built to serve design tokens in multiple formats.
Version Management System
API versioning was implemented to manage design system updates.
Asset Management
Endpoints were created to serve design assets including icons, illustrations, and fonts.
API Development
The database structure was designed in MongoDB to store design tokens and users.
RESTful API Implementation
A comprehensive REST API was built to serve design tokens in multiple formats.
Version Management System
API versioning was implemented to manage design system updates.
Asset Management
Endpoints were created to serve design assets including icons, illustrations, and fonts.
Deployment & Distribution
The application was successfully deployed on Railway with the deployment automatically triggering when changes are pushed to the main repository branch.
MongoDB Atlas Integration
MongoDB Atlas was connected to the Railway deployment for reliable, scalable data storage.
Package Distribution
The design system was published as npm packages with automated publishing triggered by version releases in the repository.
Documentation Site
The documentation website was deployed alongside the API on Railway.
Production Rollout
The complete system is now live on Railway with MongoDB handling all data.
Deployment & Distribution
The application was successfully deployed on Railway with the deployment automatically triggering when changes are pushed to the main repository branch.
MongoDB Atlas Integration
MongoDB Atlas was connected to the Railway deployment for reliable, scalable data storage.
Package Distribution
The design system was published as npm packages with automated publishing triggered by version releases in the repository.
Documentation Site
The documentation website was deployed alongside the API on Railway.
Production Rollout
The complete system is now live on Railway with MongoDB handling all data.
Design System Creation
- •Research & Planning: Audit of existing UI components across all products, identifying inconsistencies and establishing core design principles.
- •Foundation Establishment: Tokens and components were created and documented for colors, typography, spacing, shadows, and other visual properties.
- •Component Library Development: Component library was built starting with tokens, progressing to molecular components.
- •Documentation & Guidelines: Detailed documentation was created showing proper usage for each component.
Design System Creation
- •Research & Planning: Audit of existing UI components across all products, identifying inconsistencies and establishing core design principles.
- •Foundation Establishment: Tokens and components were created and documented for colors, typography, spacing, shadows, and other visual properties.
- •Component Library Development: Component library was built starting with tokens, progressing to molecular components.
- •Documentation & Guidelines: Detailed documentation was created showing proper usage for each component.
Tech Stack
Token Management Flow
Frontend Experience
The interface balances information density with usability, prioritizing the workflows that determine design system adoption success
Token Visualization
Color swatches and visual previews enable immediate recognition and validation, reducing the cognitive load of working with large token libraries while preventing selection errorsInfrastructure Choices
These infrastructure decisions prioritize rapid iteration, organizational scalability, and reduced operational complexity—enabling focus on user experience and design system adoption rather than technical maintenance.
Railway Deployment
- Selected for seamless GitHub integration and automatic deployments, reducing operational overhead
- Design System Iteration Speed: Automatic deployments enable rapid prototyping and testing of design system changes during critical early adoption phases
- Version Control Integration: Direct GitHub connection ensures design system changes are tracked and documented for governance processes
MongoDB Atlas
- Evolutionary Schema Design: Document storage accommodates token structure evolution without database migrations that disrupt production usage
- Design System Discovery: Native text search enables intuitive token discovery workflows that determine tool adoption success
- Organizational Scaling: Managed performance optimization supports growth from team usage to enterprise adoption without infrastructure redesign
JWT Authentication
- API-First Security: Stateless tokens enable secure programmatic access essential for build pipeline integration and developer adoption
- Microservices Architecture: Stateless authentication enables future expansion into specialized services without complex session management
- Team Collaboration Security: JWT enables role-based access control essential for design system governance, ensuring safe collaboration between designers and developers
Designing for Safe Collaboration and Control
The application follows a clear hierarchical structure that balances open access with governance controls, ensuring design system integrity while enabling cross-functional collaboration.
Systematic API Endpoint Design
Designing Reliable Backend Infrastructure for Design System Integration.
RESTful API Design
Role-Based Access Control for Design System
Varying permissions for different user roles
| Feature | Standard User |
|---|---|
| View Tokens & Components | Yes |
| Search/Filter | Yes |
| Create Tokens & Components | No |
| Delete Tokens & Components | No |
| Bulk Upload | No |
| Export Data | Yes |
Sustainable design systems must solve operational problems, not just aesthetic ones.
My understanding of design systems transformed from curated asset libraries into foundational infrastructure that requires the same strategic thinking as any platform or service offering.
Infrastructure Over Documentation
By focusing on programmatic access and automation, the system becomes self-sustaining rather than dependent on continuous curation efforts.
Strategic Constraint Application
Design system tools succeed through predictable behavior rather than extensive feature sets—teams adopt tools they can depend on, not necessarily the most capable ones.
Cross-Disciplinary Design Thinking
Implementing both the user interface and API architecture deepened my appreciation for how design decisions impact technical implementation.
Systematic Problem Solving
Success is measured by how well the system reduces friction across different team roles and technical contexts.
Anticipatory Design Strategy
Building extensible foundations that evolve with design system maturity is more valuable than solving every immediate problem perfectly.
Future Improvements
This project reinforced the critical importance of designing for both human users and system integrations. The success of design systems depends not just on the tokens themselves, but on the tools that make them accessible, maintainable, and actionable across teams.
Enhanced UI Consistency
Align interface elements with established design system principles
Component Library Integration
Expand beyond tokens to include component definitions
Advanced Analytics
Usage tracking and adoption metrics across projects