Content components and compounding interest
Creating content design system components is like investing money. Each component you create generates value, and that value compounds as you create more.
When I first started working, I wasn’t that motivated to put money away for retirement on a consistent basis. I knew in theory that it was important, but since my PhD stipend was so low and I was only able to put away small amounts, it was hard to visualize how this could yield significant value. It wasn’t until I started investing small amounts regularly and saw how they grew with time that I got more excited about the process and realized that consistent saving and investing were key to building the future I wanted.
The same is true of content design systems. Most content designers I’ve talked to are really interested in the idea of building one, but some get discouraged because they know that each component will take time to design and build. It’s still somewhat rare for teams to have a dedicated content design ops person. While I think this will change soon, currently the component creation process typically requires that someone take time away from their regular content design work to design and build each one.
Keep in mind though that even large, established visual & interaction design systems had to start somewhere, and some of them began without a dedicated design systems team. Often they started with one component and built from there, increasing the scope as time went on. Every new component made the system a little more useful and helped them make a better case for more resources and investment.
It’s amazing to have an exhaustive library of content components so content designers and their design partners can easily find components, templates, patterns, and examples, but it’s OK to start small. If your team starts with a component or two and builds from there with small yet consistent efforts, you’ll eventually reach the point of having a more exhaustive, mature content design system.
Start by thinking about what components would provide the most impact. Is there a type of content that your team spends a lot of time discussing, or that designers or devs often ask about? You could even put together a survey or do a voting exercise to see what content types content designers and design partners would find most useful to have componentized.
Once you’ve built your first component, start tracking who’s using it and building your case for devoting the resources to creating more. And don’t forget to socialize what you’ve created. Find a way (for example, a newsletter or announcements at team meetings) to provide regular updates on what components are now available. This will keep your growing content design system top of mind and hopefully increase adoption.
Every content component your team creates—even the first one—will save content designers and design partners time and help them create and reuse product content more efficiently.
