Coherent Design System (CDS)

Three questions to the project team

What was the particular challenge of the project from a UX point of view?
The primary UX challenge was addressing inefficiencies in resource usage across projects while creating a design system that could serve multiple teams and domains. The goal was to let designers focus on research and creativity instead of spending time maintaining isolated, per-project systems.
Developing CDS also meant overcoming functional limitations in Figma while ensuring components remained simple, clear, and easy to integrate. Balancing flexibility and complexity was particularly challenging—components needed to accommodate diverse use cases without overwhelming users. By investing in research and feedback, we designed a highly customizable yet user-friendly system, continuously refining it to enhance its functionality.

What was your personal highlight in the development process? Was there an aha!-moment, was there a low point?
The development of CDS was filled with 'aha!' moments. Early testing in a product sandbox validated its effectiveness — switching from the Material Design library to CDS nearly tripled delivery speed, allowing more time for discovery and ideation phases. One session with 2.5 hours of work with CDS produced mockups that were instantly approved, compared to 1.5 weeks of effort without it. Same time, we faced resistance from designers and developers who skeptical of another custom solution. Individual showcases improved their attitude, though occasional frustrations arose when things didn’t function as intended. Overcoming these challenges has made every small victory even more rewarding.

Where do you see yourself and the project in the next five years?
In the next five years, we envision CDS evolving into a go-to tool for businesses managing complex, data-heavy products. The component library remains the foundation, expanding with tools for effortless theme customization and branding, unlocking greater styling flexibility.

Integration with popular code frameworks will enhance delivery speed and long-term product support. With all components live solutions can be deployed quickly, like a finely tuned machine.

Leveraging AI - aligns with our early commitment and potentially advancing into the Requirements-to-UI era. Over time, the CDS could offer various UI themes for specific domains, complete code support, and become a fully-fledged product built by Coherent Solutions.