Design Systems Part 1: More Than Just a Brand Book

Good morning. In this edition:

• ⚡ What is a design system?

• 🔥 The 3 dimensions of an effective design system

• 💥 Google is stealing your content

What is a design system?

A design system is far more than a style guide or brand book. It's a comprehensive, living ecosystem that unites your entire organization around a shared visual language and interaction patterns. Think of it as the central nervous system of your brand's expression - connecting every touchpoint and ensuring consistency across your entire customer experience.

At its core, a design system is a single source of truth that includes:

• Visual elements: Logo, typography, color palettes, iconography, imagery styles

• UI components: Buttons, forms, navigation elements, cards, modals

• Patterns: Standard layout structures, interaction models, responsive behaviors

• Voice and tone: Writing guidelines, content principles, terminology standards

• Documentation: Usage guidelines, implementation rules, accessibility standards

The most effective design systems balance structure with flexibility - providing clear guardrails while allowing for creative application.

The 3 Dimensions of an Effective Design System

Every comprehensive design system operates along three critical dimensions:

1. Identity

This is the foundational level that most people think of when they hear "branding":

• Primary and secondary color palettes with accessibility considerations

• Typography system with heading and body hierarchies

• Logo usage guidelines and minimum spacing requirements

• Photography and illustration styles

• Iconography system and creation principles

• Visual treatments (shadows, gradients, textures, etc.)

These elements form your brand's visual fingerprint - the immediate signals that identify your brand at a glance.

2. Principles

The underlying values and philosophy that guide how your brand expresses itself:

• Purpose statement: Why your brand exists beyond profit

• Brand values: The core beliefs that drive decisions

• Design principles: How your brand approaches problem-solving

• Accessibility commitments: How you ensure inclusivity

• Personality attributes: The human characteristics your brand embodies

These principles act as decision-making filters, helping teams align on "how we do things" even when facing new challenges.

3. Best Practices

The established standards that ensure quality and consistency:

• Accessibility requirements (WCAG compliance levels)

• UX patterns for common user flows

• Performance standards and loading behaviors

• Responsive design approaches

• Cross-platform adaptation guidelines

Best practices create shared understanding of quality standards, eliminating subjective debates about implementation.

Google is stealing your content

Google has launched a new feature that automatically repurposes your marketing emails, social media links, and other content to dynamically generate ads. While this automation might sound convenient, we're recommending all clients temporarily opt out based on our previous experiences with similar Google features, which have often created more confusion than value.

What's Actually Happening?

For founders who may not be familiar with this change, here's what you need to know:

• Google is now scanning the marketing emails you send, pulling content from your social media accounts, and using other digital assets to create automated ad campaigns.

• They're doing this without requiring explicit permission beyond their standard terms of service that most businesses accepted long ago.

• The AI-generated ads will use your brand voice, imagery, and messaging, but without your direct input on the final product.

• This is part of Google's ongoing push toward automation in advertising, which removes human oversight while still charging you for the results.

Why This Matters to Your Business

This automated content usage raises several concerns:

1. Brand Control: The AI might misrepresent your messaging or combine elements in ways that don't align with your brand strategy.

2. Competitive Positioning: You lose control over how your offerings are positioned against competitors.

3. Quality Assurance: Without review, ads might contain errors or outdated information pulled from your content.

4. Budget Implications: These auto-generated campaigns will spend your advertising budget without your direct approval on the creative.

How to Opt Out:

1. Go to Google Merchant Center

2. Click the Settings icon

3. Select "General account options"

4. Find "Marketing content usage" and disable

I believe in leveraging automation when it adds value, but only with proper oversight. I’ll be closely monitoring how this feature evolves and will keep you updated on whether it eventually becomes worth reconsidering. In the meantime, I recommend reviewing your other Google advertising settings to ensure you maintain appropriate control over how your brand is represented across all platforms.

If you have any questions about this change or would like to discuss how it might impact your marketing strategy, please don't hesitate to reach out.

This newsletter is for you. What marketing challenges are you facing in your startup journey? Reply directly to this email with your questions or topics you'd like to see covered in future issues.

Until next week,

Adam

P.S. Found this helpful? Forward it to another founder who might benefit—we're all in this together.