Foundations of System Design in UX/UI

Estimated time: 10 minutes

Learning objectives

After completing this reading, you will be able to:

Introduction

Designing a digital system is far more than building screens and linking buttons. It's about crafting cohesive experiences—rooted in research, shaped by structure, and polished through iterative feedback. Before diving into individual concepts such as microinteractions or typography, it's essential to understand system design holistically. This reading provides that foundation, connecting theory with practice and aligning closely with the Carbon Design System—IBM's open-source design framework for building consistent and accessible experiences at scale.

What is system design in UX/UI?

In UX/UI, system design refers to a comprehensive approach that integrates user research, usability heuristics, interaction principles, and responsive design into a unified experience. It ensures consistency, scalability, and accessibility across all touchpoints of a digital product.

Whether you're creating a web dashboard, a mobile app, or an enterprise platform, system design helps in answering:

Carbon Design System emphasizes:

The role of research in system design

Great systems begin with great research. The videos in this module, such as "UX Research Methods and Techniques," "User Research: How to Build Personas," and "Mapping User Journeys," emphasize the discovery phase, where designers gather behavioral, emotional, and contextual insights.

Carbon encourages grounding each component—be it a button or navigation drawer—in real user needs. Techniques such as persona development, journey mapping, and qualitative feedback loops form the backbone of scalable systems.

Usability, heuristics, and testing

A well-designed system is only effective if it's usable. The videos, such as "10 Usability Heuristics Explained," "Conducting Usability Testing and A/B Testing," and "How to Use Analytics for UX Decisions," showcase how to test assumptions and refine experiences. Carbon supports accessibility-first design, ensuring that systems work not just functionally but inclusively.

These heuristics shape how users flow through an experience, from error prevention to recognition over recall. Pairing these with data from analytics and A/B tests ensures continuous system improvement.

Interface harmony: Color, Typography, and Visual Hierarchy

Design isn't just about aesthetics—it's about communication. The videos, such as "Color Psychology in UI Design," "Typography: How to Choose the Right Fonts," and "Analysing Visual Hierarchy in UI," reinforce visual clarity and brand coherence.

Carbon Design System provides:

These design choices are especially important when designing for accessibility and scalability, ensuring the interface adapts seamlessly to different contexts.

Interactivity and motion: Beyond clicks

Modern systems require fluid, natural interactions. The videos, such as "Gesture-Based Interactions in Mobile Apps," "Using Animation for Better UX," and "Mastering Microinteractions," highlight how motion, feedback, and gesture enhance usability.

Carbon's design tokens and motion principles help guide microinteractions design—whether it's a tooltip, loading spinner, or swipe gesture—ensuring the system feels alive and intuitive without overwhelming the user.

Layout and responsiveness: Designing for all screens

In a multi-device world, your design system must scale gracefully. With videos such as "How to Use a Grid System in UI," "Designing for Different Screen Sizes," and "Adaptive versus Responsive Design Layouts," you'll learn how to apply flexible grids and breakpoints for all viewports.

Carbon's 12-column layout grid, spacing system, and responsive components support consistency from mobile to desktop, ensuring the system is both flexible and unified.

Summary