Design systems feel like overhead — until they don't.
The first week you spend building tokens, components and guidelines feels slow. But by week three, you're shipping UI twice as fast and your whole team speaks the same visual language.
Start Small
You don't need a Figma library on day one. Start with colour tokens and a type scale in CSS variables. That's your foundation.
Grow Incrementally
Add components only when you need them a second time. The 'rule of three' applies: build a component when you've copy-pasted it twice.
Document as You Go
The design system is only as useful as its documentation. A one-liner comment above each token is enough to start.