Design Systems & DesignOps
Your product is growing.
Keep it consistent while it does.
A dedicated Design system and DesignOps retainer, built for teams whose product is scaling faster than their design consistency can keep up.
- 3 - 4 weeksInitial audit & build
- MonthlyOngoing maintenance & review
- 1Source of truth for your product
The Problem
As a product grows,
Small inconsistencies compound.
New features get built by different people, at different times, under different deadlines. Spacing drifts. Component variants multiply. Naming stops meaning the same thing across files. None of it is anyone's mistake, it is just what happens without a system holding it together, and it adds up until the product starts to feel like it was designed by five different companies.
The Fix
A living system,
not a one time file.
A documented, governed, and actively maintained design system, so every new screen starts from the same source of truth: the same components, the same tokens, the same rules for how they get used.
Why this matters more, not less, with AI in the mix:As more of your screens get drafted with AI assisted tools, speed goes up, but so does the risk of quiet drift, a slightly different spacing rule here, a new one off component there. A system does not slow AI assisted work down. It is what keeps that work consistent once it ships.
Our Process
How we build a design system
From variables and components to a shipped product, every layer is connected, so one change flows everywhere.
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Variables
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Styling
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Components
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Library
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Final Product
The retainer
Two tiers, depending on how much governance you need.
-
Starter
Build and maintain
- Initial audit of every inconsistency, spacing, color, components, naming
- A built or consolidated component library in Figma, tokens, variants and states defined
- Monthly maintenance as your product evolves
- A short monthly consistency report
$1,800 / month
Book Starter -
Pro
Build, maintain, and govern
- Everything in Starter
- A formal governance process, so your own team can contribute without breaking consistency
- Documentation published somewhere your whole team can reference, not just inside Figma
- Structured QA workflows, a defined check before anything new ships
$2,800 / month
Book Pro
Who does the work
A designer with dedicated design system experience handles the day to day, reviewed periodically by a senior lead. Once a system is built, the work is repeatable and well defined, which is also why it costs less than full production capacity.
What this does not include:
Net new feature design, that is Design Engine's scope (we can discuss to add if necessary) and engineering implementation of tokens into your codebase. We hand off implementation ready specs, your engineering team builds it, and we can advise during that handoff.
How it works
Four steps, then a steady rhythm.
Audit
We review your current product for inconsistencies and gaps, spacing, color, components, naming.
Build
We build or consolidate the design system: components, tokens, documentation, all defined clearly.
Maintain
We maintain it monthly as new features ship, with a short report on what changed and what to watch.
Govern Pro only
We set up the contribution and approval process, so your own team can add components without breaking consistency.
How a design system is set up?
Questions you might have
Before the call
- How is this different from Design Engine?
- Design Engine is production capacity, new screens and features get designed and delivered each month. This retainer is what keeps everything Design Engine, or any other team, produces consistent over time.
- Can we start on Starter and move to Pro later?
- Yes. Most teams start with Starter once the system needs to be built, and move to Pro once more people are contributing and governance starts to matter.
- Do we need this if we already work with MXBO?
- Not always. It tends to make sense once a product has grown enough, usually a few months into an engagement, that consistency has started to slip. Your account lead will only raise it when that is actually the case.
Next step
Pick a time, we will look at where your product's
consistency is starting to slip.
A short call to walk through what we are seeing, and whether Starter or Pro is the right place to begin.
Keep it consistent while it grows.