Nate Baldwin

I’ve been in the design systems field since 2013 when they were called “pattern libraries” and “style guides”. I made and managed Ellucian Inc’s initial design system. It had a Sketch library, CSS framework, and online documentation. After that, I worked for 6 years on Adobe’s Spectrum Design system and made many key contributions. For about 5 years, I was in charge of their design token system. I also handled the relationship between designers and developers. In addition, I made and documented complex components, such as the Tree View. It had to work for file organization and as a Layers panel in creative applications. I also helped our design team think more systematically about design. We worked on creating a flexible, scalable enterprise design system. I work for Intuit Design System. I lead collaboration efforts to improve our design tokens and theming for multiple brands.

I wrote many articles on Medium.com about design system theory and ways to implement design systems. In particular, I have a lot of articles about color for design systems. I’ve talked at events in the area about design systems. I also spoke at the FRONT conference about accessible color systems. I’m on Twitter, talking about design systems. I share opinions and help answer questions. I was also featured in an interview for Tramontana institute’s Design System online courses.

My writing and tools have been featured a number of times in Design Systems News. The content I made for Adobe Spectrum is widely shared in the industry. Even my old venn diagram is still talked about in design system discussions. Brad Frost recently mentioned it in an article, jokingly calling it outdated (he’s right).

This is a difficult one for me to pinpoint. Most of my activity is on Twitter, LinkedIn, Medium, or the Design Systems Slack. I keep involved and active as much as I can. I measure my success by being @ mentioned when people have questions about color or tokens. When it comes to educational materials, my biggest contribution is ColorAndContrast.com. Many people find value in this site and share it with others, leading to high visibility and traffic.

People usually contact me through Twitter, LinkedIn or Slack. People often ask me questions, but I don’t always give them my answer immediately. I help them by asking questions about what’s best for their customers or end-users. The best design systems advice is never universal. Each team, organization, company, and product is different. My goal is to help them understand and find the most effective solutions for their customers. When it comes to inclusivity in our community, I will always support and encourage others. Even if someone creates a competitor to my work, I don’t want to outsell or discourage them. That has no place. I love to see their work and encourage them on the things it does well, areas they could push a bit further, etcetera. Diverse ideas, tools, and people are what help the community as a whole to grow more mature and sophisticated, so I try to encourage that wherever I can.