UKEF Design System - Early Stage Build
Building UKEF’s first shared component library from nothing, in parallel with live service delivery.
The problem
There was nothing. No shared components, no standards, no starting point for interaction designers working on UKEF digital services. Every design decision was being made in isolation, and patterns that should have been consistent were being reinvented from scratch each time. As the GIFT service grew more complex, the absence of a system became a real risk - both for consistency and for the speed of future delivery.
What I did about the problem
I started building one. Working with one other designer, I identified the UKEF and GIFT-specific components that the GOV.UK Design System didn't cover and began defining and building them in Figma. I validated the most critical components in prototype code to make sure they worked in a real service context - not just on a canvas. I kept the scope deliberately focused: build what's needed now, document it at a high level in Figma, and create a foundation that can grow. It wasn't perfect and it isn't finished - but it exists, and it didn't before.
What came out the other side
Designers working on the GIFT service now have a shared component set to reference rather than starting from scratch. Consistency across the service has improved, and the system sets a precedent for how future UKEF services should be built. This is the first design system UKEF interaction designers have had - and it was built from nothing in parallel with live service delivery.
What I learned
Starting a design system during active delivery is genuinely difficult. The temptation is to wait until things are stable, but stability rarely comes. The answer is to start small, document as you go, and accept that version one won't be perfect.