Modern Screen Design Process

Using style guides

Outline

  • Styleguide
    • Why
    • How to start
    • Atomic Design
  • My Design Workflow
    • Example of a Styleguide

Designer should be able to 

!

code

Developer should be able to

design

"Design systems, not pages."

- Andy Clark

Styleguide

Pattern Lab

Component Guide

Modular Design Guide

Front-End Design Guide

+ consistency

+ easier to test

+ better workflows

+ reference / documentation over time

Why a Styleguide?

- time consuming

- too abstract

- no best practices established

Where to start?

+ look at other existing styleguides

styleguide.io

 

+ look at the methodology of Atomic Design

   by Brad Frost

Atomic Design by Brad Frost

Styleguide

The smallest possible element

Label

Button

Input Field

Atoms

A combination of atoms

Molecules

A combination of atoms and molecules

Organisms

Whats your workflow?

?

My Workflow

Requirements/

Wireframes

Work out design

Designsheet

Styleguide

Templates

Inspiration

direction

Aa Bb Cc

Aa Bb Cc Dd

Wireframes - Why?

" I really like the color, but can you change it? "

"Please just use Comic Sans. We need it look 'fun'."

"Can you move the heading 10px down?"

Wireframes

  • Fast & good basis for discussion
  • Low fidelity
    • Sketches
    • Wireframe Tool (Balsamiq, Omni Graffle, ...)
  • Interactive
    • Showing important workflows
    • InVision, Framer.js, ...

 

Designsheet

  • Collect all basic elements
  • Translate your worked out design to the UI elements
  • Good for discussing with customers

Next steps

  1. All Screens with Sketch or Photoshop
     
  2. Most important Screens with Sketch or Photoshop
     
  3. Start with a Styleguide

Styleguide

Create Atoms an Molecules in HTML and CSS

by reference to the wireframes and the design sheet

 

Styleguide

What to use:

KSS (Knyle Style Sheets)

  • CSS Documentation
  • Auto generates Style Guide
  • SCSS, LESS
  • Example: Yelp

Living Style Guide

  • Sass and Markdown
  • Separated CSS and HTML
  • Works with task runner (Gulp, Grunt, Broccoli,...)
  • Example following

Living Style Guide

.button {
  padding: 13px 20px;
  width:100%;
  border:none;
  font-family: $main-font;
  border-radius: $border-radius;
  box-shadow: 0 2px 3px rgba($color-darkgrey, 0.4);

  @include base_button($white, $color-primary);
}

.button--secondary {
  @include base_button($color-darkgrey, $color-lightgrey);
}

Stylesheet: _button.scss

Living Style Guide

Buttons //Markdown file for buttons
=======

```
<button class="button">Button</button>
```

```
<button class="button button--secondary">Button</button>
```

Markdown: _button.md

Living Style Guide

Workflow Summary

  • Choose a task runner: Gulp, Grunt, Broccoli
  • Make some basic configuration
  • Create a Sass and Markdown file with the same name
  • Start styling

Example: Cropster Hub

Styleguide File structure Cropster Hub 

Be always 100% in sync with your codebase.

!

Use Sketch!

New to code?

Thanks for listening.

Happy styling.

Modern Screen Design Process

By Lisa Gringl

Modern Screen Design Process

Modern Screen Design Process - Using style guides

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