The Evolution of Our Design System

Building a design system for a platform serving Norwegian russ students required unique considerations for cultural context, accessibility, and scalability.

The Challenge

When we started building Viby, we knew we needed a robust design system that could handle the unique requirements of Norwegian student culture while maintaining accessibility standards and scalability.

Cultural Considerations

Norwegian russ culture has specific visual elements and traditions that needed to be incorporated:

• Color schemes that reflect Norwegian identity
• Typography that works well with Norwegian characters (æ, ø, å)
• Iconography that resonates with local students

Technical Requirements

Our design system needed to support:

• Responsive design across all devices
• Dark mode support
• Accessibility compliance (WCAG 2.1 AA)
• Performance optimization

The Solution

We built our design system using a component-first approach with the following principles:

1. Design Tokens

We established a comprehensive token system:

:root {
  --color-primary: #3b82f6;
  --color-secondary: #64748b;
  --color-accent: #f59e0b;
  --color-background: #ffffff;
  --color-foreground: #0f172a;
}

2. Component Library

Our component library includes:

• Navigation components with proper ARIA labels
• Form elements with validation states
• Content cards with consistent spacing
• Interactive elements with hover and focus states

3. Documentation

Each component is thoroughly documented with:

• Usage examples
• Accessibility guidelines
• Performance considerations
• Cultural context notes

Results

The new design system has resulted in:

• 50% faster development time for new features
• Improved accessibility scores across the platform
• Consistent user experience across all pages
• Better performance through optimized components

Looking Forward

We're continuously improving our design system based on user feedback and new requirements. The next phase includes:

• Advanced animation system
• Enhanced mobile components
• Integration with design tools
• Automated accessibility testing

This is part of our ongoing series about building Viby, the future of Norwegian russ culture.