Dive Club 🤿 — How are design systems changing?

Host: Ridd
Guest: Luis Ouriach, Designer Advocate at Figma
Date: March 10, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode of Dive Club explores the rapidly evolving landscape of design systems, focusing especially on the impact of AI (particularly LLMs), the shifting definitions of quality and collaboration, and what this all means for working designers and design organizations. Luis Ouriach, a prominent design advocate at Figma, returns to analyze trends, challenges, inflection points, and career reflections as the boundaries between design, engineering, and product continue to blur.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Rise of Design Systems in an AI-driven World

• Design Systems as the Centerpiece
  • With the advent of LLMs, design systems have become more central to engineering work since systems dictate what AI tools/code generators produce.
  • "The more we rely on a tool to create our code, the more we rely on a system to tell that tool what to code." — (Louis, 00:08/03:42)
• Initial Panic & Industry Stabilization
  • Over the past few years, significant anxiety emerged among designers over job relevance due to automation, but the field has stabilized around the importance of well-documented and robust systems.
  • "January 2025, I thought we are all toasted... that was just thankfully, a temporary feeling." — (Louis, 02:58)

2. Collaboration & Breaking Down Silos

• Cross-functional Empowerment
  • New technology empowers technically curious designers, design-oriented engineers, and proactive product managers to move across traditional boundaries.
  • "All of these people are feeling like within reach, they can get closer to production or maybe just a higher fidelity." — (Louis, 06:59)
• Rituals & Shared Ownership
  • Teams succeed by collaborating synchronously and asynchronously, with shared tools and responsibilities rather than siloed roles.
  • "Quality is everyone's job and quality is everyone's business." — (Louis, 14:31)

3. The Shifting Purpose and Practice of Design Systems

• From Documentation for People to Documentation for Machines
  • The primary value of documentation is less about educating humans and more about instructing AI systems. Systems define the "quality bar" and keep generated work from becoming unmanageable.
  • "The more we rely on a system, the more we're going to generate just honestly rubbish into our systems that will just pile up like a landfill... unless we now treat those systems as a centerpiece for change." — (Louis, 03:42)
• Agentic Design Systems & Automation
  • Teams must proactively determine which parts of the workflow to automate—component generation, token pipelines, or documentation—and not allow these decisions to be made by default.
  • "We have to decide as an individual, as a company, or even as a team within a company, what are our roles actually now and what are the tools taking over..." — (Louis, 04:32)

4. The Balancing Act: Experimentation vs. Systematization

• When Deviation is Key
  • Early-stage experimentation, such as raw values in UI, can be vital for rapid iteration and differentiation but must be balanced against the long-term benefits of a system.
  • "Deviation from the system is the win... because we need to be able to attract people differently every single time." — (Louis, 17:08)
• Defining the Quality Bar
  • Over-tokenization can make systems too rigid, while under-investment leads to chaos. The level of abstraction must be appropriate to the stage and needs of the product.
  • "Experimentation can also mean quality. But an over tokenization... can mean it's so robust we can't deviate from it." — (Louis, 17:59)
• Brand as the Differentiator
  • As technical barriers fall, brand feeling and emotional resonance become more important, with consistent out-of-the-box accessibility and quality as table stakes.
  • "Making it feel like your brand is where you can put the energy on top of a system that is already proven." — (Louis, 22:39)

5. Practical Team-Level Takeaways

• Starting from Anywhere
  • The old, linear process is replaced by fluid movement: ideating in code, canvas, docs, or Slack. The idea and user impact trump the starting point or medium.
  • "Starting from anywhere philosophy is the new way of working... ultimately you're going to be bouncing through the tools at some point." — (Louis, 34:15/34:37)
• Documenting Before Designing
  • Clear written articulation of ideas (docs, not just prototypes) is crucial for buy-in, especially as teams become more cross-functional.
  • "Writing down before you commit to a pixel is the best way to get buy in for an idea." — (Louis, 11:04)

6. Startup vs. Enterprise: The Design Divide

• Access and Acceleration
  • Startups are adopting AI tools quickly, enabling faster iteration; enterprises lag due to security and legacy inertia, widening the process and tooling gap.
  • "The digital divide... seems to be getting wider." — (Louis, 23:58)
• Community and Feedback Loops
  • Regardless of company size, community feedback remains vital; the processes just differ in speed and risk tolerance.

7. Personal Reflections and Career Lessons

• Season of Uncertainty
  • Luis describes a period of deep uncertainty in early 2025 regarding his career's relevance and value, followed by a period of empowerment and renewed creativity using AI tools.
  • "I could make plugins as a very easy entry point... I can jump over those courses that I’ve wasted money on and shipped a plugin very quickly." — (Louis, 38:09/38:47)
• Redefining Success
  • The definition of success in software is shifting; small, purpose-driven solutions have their own value ("niche economy").
  • "Just because we can make something doesn't mean it has to be widespread or has to have mass appeal." — (Louis, 43:00)
• Letting Go of Predictability
  • Career planning feels nearly impossible; the industry is changing so rapidly that adaptability and pursuing joyful, community-oriented work is the only constant.
  • "The amount of things that are changing on a weekly basis means that I think that it's a fruitless task for someone like me to try and plan their career." — (Louis, 44:23)

8. Mainstreaming and Societal Impact

• AI Adoption Beyond Tech
  • AI's impact is far-reaching—all kinds of professionals now talk about and integrate AI into their work, fostering mainstream acceptance.
  • "The prevailing narrative that I think we tell ourselves is not the mass market consumer narrative... people will find real use cases that help them every day." — (Louis, 49:19)
• Pixel Perfection is Not Always the Priority
  • Most software isn't pixel-perfect, and that's often fine—the focus should be on user outcomes and business value, with design and polish coming later or not at all.
  • "Most software sucks and people don't really care about the pixels... The pixels are secondary to the success of the business." — (Louis, 49:19)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On AI and Systems:
  "The more we rely on a tool to create our code, the more we rely on a system to tell that tool what to code."
  — Louis, 00:08/03:42

• On Empowerment:
  "All of these people are feeling like within reach, they can get closer to production or maybe just a higher fidelity."
  — Louis, 06:59

• On Starting Points:
  "Starting from anywhere philosophy is the new way of working... ultimately you're going to be bouncing through the tools at some point."
  — Louis, 34:15/34:37

• On Quality and Ownership:
  "Quality is everyone's job and quality is everyone's business. And if we don't accept or pursue that, we should be treating ourselves as failing."
  — Louis, 14:31

• On Brand Differentiation:
  "Making it feel like your brand is where you can put the energy on top of a system that is already proven."
  — Louis, 22:39

• On Personal Growth:
  "I thought, hang on a second. I could make plugins as a very easy entry point into what I've been trying to learn..."
  — Louis, 38:09

• On the "Niche Economy":
  "You can create something that solves a problem for a thousand people... what if you could do that 20 times as a designer?"
  — Brian, 43:44

Key Timestamps

• 00:00–00:38 — Framing the new centrality of design systems around LLMs/AI
• 01:11–03:34 — Luis outlines the evolution of design systems; fear and subsequent stabilization
• 04:32–05:20 — Discussion of agentic systems and automation; redefining roles
• 06:40–09:01 — The new collaborative rituals and breaking down silos
• 11:04–12:57 — The importance (and controversy) of writing vs. prototyping
• 14:31–16:32 — Practical advice for Series B startups building their first design system
• 17:08–20:13 — Navigating strategy: standardization vs. experimentation in systems
• 23:58–26:14 — The growing tool/process gap between startups and enterprises
• 29:54–31:46 — Redefining the designer’s workflow in the "bounce between tools" era
• 37:52–40:24 — Luis’s personal adaptation to AI disruption, learning and building with LLMs
• 43:44–44:23 — The emergence of the "niche economy" and new ways to create value
• 44:23–45:34 — Career planning in an unpredictable industry
• 49:19–51:54 — Societal mainstreaming of AI and letting go of pixel perfection

Takeaways for Designers & Design Leaders

• Adaptability is key: Rigid role definitions and old processes are much less relevant—learn to play multiple positions!
• Focus on systemizing quality: But don’t lose sight of brand and emotion—the differentiators in a world where baseline quality is commoditized.
• Leverage documentation and tools for both people and AI.
• Start anywhere, but collaborate everywhere: Bouncing between docs, design, code, and AI is the new norm.
• Feeling overwhelmed is normal: Embrace community, take your shots, learn by building, and don’t stress about perfect planning.

Closing Thought

"Take a shot." — (Louis, 53:58)

In a rapidly changing design landscape shaped by generative AI and agentic systems, experimentation, openness, and cross-functional collaboration are now the baseline for growth and success. Designers have more opportunity—and more responsibility—than ever before.