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zeroheight and Sparkbox are partnering!

Since zeroheight started in 2015, we’ve had the pleasure of working with companies big and small to create design systems that transform product development.

We’ve always provided the tooling. But, some of the most complex problems confronting design systems go beyond a tool into governance models, contribution, and culture. For that, a design system consulting studio is most helpful.

So, we’re partnering with one of the best: Sparkbox, a web development studio focusing on user-centered solutions. It’s clear to us that Sparkbox is uniquely poised to help zeroheight customers get even more out of their design systems.

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How Sparkbox can help

When we started looking for studios to be a part of our new Agency Partner Program, it was immediately clear that Sparkbox fit the mold.

Their engagement model helps companies at any stage of building a design system. Plus, it’s a holistic approach that considers people, processes, and tooling.

Katie Jennings, VP of Business Development at Sparkbox, explains, “We start with culture and end with a live system. Along the way, we’re thinking about how to get more folks engaged with it as contributors and participants with the system.”

Ultimately, companies who work with Sparkbox are left with a design system and the cultural change needed to make it effective.

Ben Callahan, Founder of Sparkbox, put it best when he noted, “What we try to do with our customers is understand the culture of the organization, understand the change that’s necessary, and understand the real impact a design system can have for them. After all the research we do, we set them up for success long term.”

What we try to do with our customers is understand the culture of the organization, understand the change that’s necessary, and understand the real impact a design system can have for them. After all the research we do, we set them up for success long term.

The core tenant for everyone at Sparkbox is leaving partner companies better than they found them. At zeroheight, that principle made it easy to select Sparkbox as the first member of our Agency Partner Program.

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Leveraging zeroheight and Sparkbox

Sparkbox works to become a trusted partner for their clients, and that means bringing them great options regarding process, technique, and tooling. With some of their customers already on the zeroheight platform, it was easy for Sparkbox to see how a stronger relationship with zeroheight would strengthen the Sparkbox offering. When we asked Ben Callahan what was appealing about this partnership, here’s what he said, “We encourage all of our customers to think about where their information lives. It’s hard because developers want their docs in the code and designers want their docs in Figma. What I love about zeroheight is it gives you a place to bring it all together.”

We encourage all of our customers to think about where their information lives. It’s hard because developers want their docs in the code and designers want their docs in Figma. What I love about zeroheight is it gives you a place to bring it all together.

The Figma integration allows designers to import key information. Plus, integrations with Storybook and GitHub (along with other ways to add code into styleguides) help developers utilize the tool too.

As design systems evolve, Ben is even more confident that zeroheight will play a key role. He explains, “The stuff zeroheight is working on with tokens is really valuable and is going to play a big role in the future.” (Sign up to be an early tester of our upcoming design tokens manager).

For teams who are looking to create a design system that serves the whole organization, zeroheight and Sparkbox are ready to help!

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Working Together to Serve the Community

After working with a diverse set of partners, Sparkbox has amassed a ton of information about web development and design systems.

And over the years, the zeroheight team has gotten a chance to work with a few amazing companies too!

With the new partnership in place, we’re looking forward to collectively sharing our expertise with the design community.

In fact, we’ve already started! Our new event, Design System Triage, is an informal space for anyone working on a design system. It’s a place to chat about challenges and best practices with a group of your peers. Creating a design system can be lonely work, so why not share what you’re learning and meet others who are trying to solve the same problems you are?

Of course, there’s a whole lot more to come!

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Leveraging zeroheight and Sparkbox

At zeroheight, we’re happy to be partnered with a studio that has all of the tools necessary to help organizations of any size. Now, when you partner with zeroheight, you’ll have a studio partner ready to help you fully leverage the tool, assess your culture, and prepare for long-term impact. To learn more about partnering with Sparkbox, check out their expertise and get in touch.