How Swisscom builds design systems with Robin Di Capua
"Design by committee ends up with a bloated library."
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Robin Di Capua is currently UX Lead (Design Systems) at Swisscom. He has worked as a designer for almost 16 years after getting a bachelor's in computer science and a master's in digital design. After working in a startup for the first 6.5 years, he joined Swisscom, the biggest telecommunication company in Switzerland. After being a consumer and then a contributor to the design system, he took the role of UX Lead for the design system team for the last 3.5 years.
About Swissom
Company size: 19’000+
Design teams: around 60 designers spread across multiple teams/departments (B2C, B2B, Brand, Entertainment, Infrastructure)
Design System team size: 6 full-time + 2 interns at the moment
People using design system (or team using design system): 700+ people between devs and designers, plus external agencies
🤩 Key Takeaways:
Why design systems aren't what most people think they are
How to sell the idea of the design system in a large organization
The controversial truth about "design by committee"
How design systems expose uncomfortable organizational realities
The hidden skill gap between product designers and system designers
Why federated models often fail despite good intentions
The untapped potential of AI in design system workflows
Maintaining system vision amid competing team demands
What Robin would change if he could go back in time
Thank you, Robin, for taking us on an inside tour. 🤩 You shared so many valuable insights from your design system journey at Swisscom! Your candid perspective on the challenges of implementing a design system in a large organization is invaluable for our community. From the grassroots beginnings to scaling adoption across departments, wow! Enjoy the episode ▶️
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