Creating a design system marks a significant milestone in organizational design maturity. With the help of modern design tools, component libraries, and dedicated design system teams, companies are increasingly able to set up well-structured systems. 

These systems might include tokens for spacing, color, and typography; a suite of UI components like buttons and modals; and foundational design documentation. That in itself is no small feat. 

The real challenge often comes after the system is built.

Getting teams to use design systems consistently at scale

While creation is achievable, design system adoption at scale is where many teams stumble. It’s one thing to design a great button component; it’s another to get dozens of product teams to trust and use it across web, iOS, Android, and email. 

When the system isn’t seen as credible or convenient, teams fall back on custom implementations, fragmenting the experience. These adoption challenges aren’t always about usability or even lack of documentation. They stem from a deeper issue: confidence.

Maturity is not about patterns

Today’s top-tier systems evolve beyond the foundational layer. They become collaborative operating frameworks for product development, uniting design, development, and process alignment.

What separates mature systems?

1. Shared understanding across disciplines
   Mature systems are built on strong collaboration between designers and developers. This includes alignment not just on components but on workflows, responsibilities, and desired outcomes. Everyone understands what "done" means, visually and functionally.
2. Design principles guide every decision
   Systems embed core principles, such as clarity, flexibility, and accessibility, to help teams make consistent, mission‑aligned choices.
3. Documentation is living, action‑oriented, and inclusive
   Instead of static spec sheets, mature systems offer evolving documentation tied to real use cases. Accessibility notes, usage dos and don’ts, and live component examples help teams move faster and with greater confidence.
4. Component libraries are contextual and credible
   Components come with best practices, interaction expectations, and platform considerations. Teams know how and when to use them, without guesswork.

Why this matters

• Shared understanding: When cross-functional teams speak the same language and follow unified processes, quality and speed improve.
• Consistent experiences: Holistic systems ensure cohesive interfaces across platforms.
• Efficient scale: As teams grow, well-integrated documentation, principles, and implementation processes reduce friction and reinforce standards.

Maturity can be defined as collaborative confidence that the components are understood, trusted, and effectively used across every stage of product development.

Closing the trust gap between design and code

One of the biggest threats to adoption is the disconnect between design and implementation. Even when a design system appears well-documented and polished, confidence breaks down if the delivered components don’t match what’s promised in design files.

Symptoms of the trust gap:

• Design tokens in Figma don’t match what’s used in production
• Documentation and specs are outdated or misaligned with real behavior
• Developers find bugs or inconsistencies that undermine reliability

When design and code drift apart, teams begin to work around the system rather than within it. Developers might rebuild components from scratch, fork existing code, or rely on tribal knowledge instead of shared resources. Designers, in turn, become hesitant to trust whether the system will reflect their intent in production.

Consequences:

• Rework: Time lost rebuilding or fixing what should have been reused
• Inconsistency: User experience varies across platforms and products
• Design debt: Technical and visual fragmentation increases over time

This erosion of trust often begins subtly but compounds quickly. A button component that's slightly off in one product becomes a diverging pattern across five others. Eventually, the design system exists in name only, while teams build fragmented solutions out of necessity.

Bridging the trust gap requires:

• Continuous code/design parity
• Mechanisms to audit and update components across the stack
• Real-time visibility into implementation (not just static specs)

Trust is the foundation of system adoption. When that trust is broken, consistency falters, and return on investment in the system begins to diminish.

How visibility into code strengthens systems

Static specs are essential, but true trust and alignment come from live visibility into production code and design context. Two complementary Figma tools make this possible:

1. Figma Code Connect

• Embeds real component code (props, states, variants) directly into Figma’s Dev Mode.
• Enables designers and developers to work with the exact same implementation, reducing guesswork and handoff friction.
• Fosters a shared language and understanding across roles.

2. Figma Dev Mode MCP Server

You’ve probably read all about Model Context Protocol (MCP). Figma’s new MCP server delivers design information into the developer workflow and AI-assisted code tools, in a few key ways:

• Live design data, in your IDE:
  
  • Enables requests for specific frame or component data via a local server, i.e., dimensions, styles, layers.
• Supports AI-powered code generation:
  
  • Tools like Cursor, VS Code Copilot, and Claude Code can fetch accurate design context (e.g., variable names, layout metadata) to guide AI-assisted coding.
• Streamlines design-to-code flow:
  
  • Developers can ask their IDE (or AI agent) to “Implement this frame,” and the MCP server fetches the exact Figma structure, improving code accuracy.

Combined benefits of code visibility

By combining Code Connect and the MCP Server, teams get full-spectrum visibility, including visual, code-level, and AI-powered infrastructure. This fosters stronger collaboration, quicker iteration, and higher confidence in system consistency.

The strategic value of code visibility

Ensuring live visibility into design system code isn’t just operationally efficient—it delivers measurable, strategic value across key dimensions.

Accelerates onboarding

• Example: Vanguard & Figma Design Systems
  Figma reports designers using systems complete tasks 34% faster.
• Development ramp-up
  Structured systems help new developers contribute 89% faster by eliminating ambiguity.

Improves consistency

• Headspace saw 20–30% time savings, and up to 50% on complex features, post token standardization.
• Swiggy halved feature rollout time after integrating consistent tokens and components.

Supports scale

• Axiom reduced design-dev friction significantly after integrating Code Connect.
• Visual tracking tools help identify adoption gaps and optimize system rollout.

Reduces rework

• Figma internal review shows fewer bugs and less one-off code thanks to system-integrated specs.
• EagleView reports up to 50% reduction in time spent designing, building, and testing when leveraging a full design system.

Summary: expected impact of code visibility

Closing: less guesswork, more confidence

A truly mature design system is actively interconnected. While tools alone cannot replace collaboration, features like code visibility make maintaining alignment significantly easier:

• fosters ongoing trust and consistency
• reduces time spent resolving discrepancies
• enables teams to focus on innovation and growth.

Ultimately, maturity in design systems ensures clarity, confidence, and agility, laying a strong foundation for sustainable organizational success. For more on how to achieve design system maturity, see our on-demand webinar: Scaling design systems across established and modern platforms.

Our team has deep experience with both developing from-scratch design systems and working within existing setups. Our approach is cross-disciplinary, including both UX design and software engineering. Connect with us to learn more.