Decoupling Design Systems

Traditional design systems are monolithic—they're built for a single brand and tightly coupled to specific visual languages. But what happens when you need to support multiple brands, or when a brand needs to evolve rapidly?

We developed a decoupled design system architecture that separates visual tokens from functional components. This allows us to maintain a single component library while supporting multiple brand identities. Each brand gets its own token file (colors, typography, spacing) while sharing the same underlying components.

This approach has transformed how we work with multi-brand clients. When launching a new brand, we can create a complete design system in days rather than months. When rebranding, we update tokens without touching component code. The result is faster iteration, lower maintenance costs, and consistent quality across all brands.

The system is built on three layers: the foundation layer (spacing, typography scales, component logic), the token layer (brand-specific visual properties), and the component layer (reusable UI elements). This separation of concerns makes the system both flexible and maintainable.

We've seen teams reduce design-to-development time by 60% and cut design system maintenance overhead by 40%. The modular approach also makes it easier for new team members to contribute, as they can work within a single brand's tokens without needing to understand the entire system.