UI Design Strategies
That Scale With Your Product.
Design systems, component libraries, and UI strategy that turn chaos into consistency. Ship faster, maintain easier, brand stronger.
Complete UI strategy.
Design Tokens
Colors, spacing, typography — systemic foundation
Component Library
Atomic, molecular, organism components in Figma
Layout System
Grids, breakpoints, container rules
Dev Handoff
Storybook, token exports, usage docs
Accessibility
WCAG 2.1 AA baked into every component
Documentation
Usage guidelines, do's and don'ts, examples
“Maple54 built our design system in 6 weeks. Our product team now ships features 3× faster. Designers and developers speak the same language. Inconsistencies: zero.”
Interfaces that scale across your product.
UI design at scale isn't “making things pretty” — it's engineering visual consistency across hundreds of screens via tokens, components, and governance.
Audit + token strategy
Week 1-2Current UI audit, inconsistency inventory, design-token taxonomy, platform + framework assessment, governance model drafted.
Design system build
Week 3-6Tokens (color, type, spacing, motion), components (60-90 with variants), pattern library, usage documentation in Figma + Storybook.
Migration + training
Week 7-8Existing screens migrated to new system, design + engineering team training, contribution workflow, Figma library setup.
Governance + iteration
OngoingMonthly reviews, new-component additions via RFC process, version releases, design-system office hours, contribution docs.
Everything needed to ship a design system.
Tokens, components, documentation, tooling, and training — one engagement.
Design tokens + foundations
Color scales, type ramp, spacing units, radius + shadow + motion tokens. Exported as JSON, CSS vars, Tailwind theme, iOS + Android.
Component library
60-90 components across buttons, inputs, layouts, navigation, data display. Variants + states + dark mode. Figma + Storybook parity.
Pattern library
Higher-order compositions: empty states, loading, error, confirmation, data-table + filter pattern, wizard + stepper, notification + toast system.
Docs + governance
Usage guidelines, contribution docs, RFC process, semantic versioning, release notes, onboarding material for new designers + engineers.
Built for product teams with 50+ screens or 4+ designers.
Below those thresholds, the overhead of maintaining a design system outweighs the benefit. Above them, the lack of one creates inconsistency + velocity loss.
B2B SaaS Products
Admin consoles, dashboards, settings pages. Dozens of forms + tables + modals benefit enormously from systematized UI.
Multi-brand Commerce
Umbrella brands with multiple storefronts. One design system + token overrides per brand saves massive engineering hours.
App + Web Product Combos
Cross-platform products shipping on iOS + Android + web. Shared design language requires platform-aware tokens + component mappings.
Large Internal Tools
Enterprise companies with 20+ internal tools. Consolidating onto a single design system yields consistency + velocity across teams.
Industry-standard tools, included.
Best-in-class design + research + handoff tooling — enterprise licenses bundled into every engagement.
UI design systems, answered honestly.
Do I need a design system?
If you have 50+ screens or 4+ designers, yes. Below that, it's premature optimization. Product-led growth companies almost always benefit once past product-market fit.
How long does a design system take?
8-12 weeks for initial build (tokens + 60-90 components + documentation). Ongoing governance continues indefinitely; typical maintenance retainer runs 3-6 months post-launch.
Figma + Storybook — how do they stay in sync?
Token pipeline via Tokens Studio / Style Dictionary ensures Figma + code share the same source of truth. Component parity maintained manually via regular sync rituals or tools like Specify.
What about Tailwind / Shadcn / MUI?
Shadcn UI + Tailwind is our default for React projects — gives you a component library you fully own, styled via design tokens. MUI + Chakra work too; we recommend based on team familiarity.
How much maintenance does it need?
Ongoing. Expect one design-system steward (senior designer) + one design-system engineer at least 20% of their time. Without governance, design systems drift and die.
UI strategy pricing.
UI Audit
Consistency + accessibility review
Design System
Complete system · 6 weeks
Enterprise
Multi-product + governance
Build a UI that scales.
Design systems, component libraries, and strategy — complete in 6 weeks.
Three ways to get started
Pick the path that fits you best — a quick form, a detailed brief, or a live call. Selected service: Branding & Design.
Prefer phone? Call (480) 650-9911 — Mon–Fri · 9am–6pm MST