{"id":12233,"date":"2025-07-05T10:31:21","date_gmt":"2025-07-05T10:31:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/?p=12233"},"modified":"2025-10-24T12:54:56","modified_gmt":"2025-10-24T11:54:56","slug":"create-a-design-language","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/create-a-design-language\/","title":{"rendered":"What is a design language and how to create one?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>(This is a guest post created in collaboration with experts at Dialpad.com)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Design is at the heart of every business. It\u2019s in your branding, product, service, and even customer service. It\u2019s your look. It\u2019s your voice.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Think about a time you had a consistent and enjoyable experience on a company\u2019s website or app. Chances are they had an appealing interface, bold images that you can still picture now, and buttons in all the right places. Chances are, they also guided you to a call-to-action without you even realising it.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is design language done right.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your design language is a set of visual and interactive elements for communicating with users in a digital environment and delivering a consistent and cohesive user experience.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In this article, we\u2019ll explore the benefits of design language, examples of companies that excel, and how to create a set of design language guidelines.<\/span><\/p>\n\n<h2><strong>Design language: Definition and benefits<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You\u2019ve heard of branding, design principles, and user interface design \u2013 but what about design language? Your design language can include everything from visual assets like your logo, colours, font, and patterns to how easily users can connect with you when they have an issue.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s how your brand should look, how your copy should come across, and even how your customer service team should sound. It\u2019s a vital part of your brand identity, whether you run an e-commerce store selling customised t-shirts or a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dialpad.com\/blog\/call-center-quality-assurance\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">contact centre quality assurance<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> system.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-12236\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/IMG_5250.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1305\" height=\"940\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your design language is important for your branding efforts because it:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Provides consistent and cohesive user experiences<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Speeds up design development\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Makes it easy to scale up production<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Streamlines onboarding or handovers<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Decreases design costs<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Design language vs. design system<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Design language and design system are two sides of the same coin. They are both very important and shouldn\u2019t be skimped on.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/what-is-a-design-system\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">purpose of a design system<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is to give your team a standardised set of reusable components and clear guidelines for how to use them across projects. It can include style guides as well as other digital assets and code snippets.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Think of the design system as the body of your design, and language as the soul. Your design language focuses on what the final product should look like to customers, while the design system tells your team how they need to go about it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To help you better understand the differences, let\u2019s look at the key elements of each one separately:<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Key elements of design language\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Every great design language covers a range of key elements \u2013 let\u2019s explore them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><strong>UI\/UX components and journeys\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Interactive elements are one of the main components of any design language. This includes animations, interactive patterns, and even how accessible the design is. All of these interactive elements must be designed with the principle <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/laws-of-ux\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">laws of UX<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in mind. If they aren\u2019t, you\u2019re just giving your customers hoops to jump through, not a seamless, pleasurable experience with your brand.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><strong>Patterns<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The human brain is very good at noticing patterns, even without consciously thinking about them. This means if the spacing, layout, button styles, and so on aren\u2019t consistent on your website or app, customers will notice it immediately. Setting rules for how these patterns look is how you create consistency, even in the smallest details.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><strong>Visual elements<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-12250 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Screenshot-2025-07-01-at-10.26.43.png\" alt=\"Screenshot of a free image from Pixaby of Typography example \" width=\"1236\" height=\"891\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The colour schemes you decide to use, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/guide-to-typography-design\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the typography<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, illustrations, shapes, patterns, and more are all part of your design language. Not only do these elements need to be consistent, but they must also be unified and feel like they all fit under the same umbrella.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can do this by starting with a brand identity or looking at a few top <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.placeit.net\/logo-ideas\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">logo suggestions<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to get the branding rolling.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To complement these visual decisions, effective <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/content-design-examples\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">content design<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> ensures that all textual and multimedia elements are not only visually appealing but also strategically crafted to enhance user engagement and clearly communicate your brand&#8217;s message.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><strong>Voice\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your tone of voice, brand personality, and even values are all considerations you need to make when putting together a consistent design language. This can be one of the trickiest elements to create since it\u2019s about making customers feel like they\u2019re dealing with a single brand persona, not the many people working for you. Do it right, however, and you will deliver a consistent user experience across the board.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Key elements of a design system<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your design language needs to be put into action. To do that, you need to create guidelines. That\u2019s your design system \u2013 and here are its key elements.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><strong>Style guides<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Design language is how your copy should sound. Style guides help your team understand how to recreate that over and over again with new projects. Style guides are also helpful for designers when creating typography, infographics, illustrations, and more.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><strong>Style scripts\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Style scripts are very similar to style guides. Like style guides, scripts give your team the tools to use a single, unified voice, giving customers a consistent experience. With scripts, however, there\u2019s room for flexibility.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is ideal for sales and customer service teams, who often need to deal with a wide range of complaints, issues, and queries. The good news is that, with AI tools, updating and implementing scripts is easier than ever.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Implementing an <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dialpad.com\/blog\/ai-changing-call-centers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">AI-based call center<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, for example, into your operations helps your team by providing scripted response suggestions based on the conversation as it\u2019s happening live.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><strong>Customised software<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sometimes, outlining how your design language is implemented is as easy as using software. For example, if you want your long-form posts to look a specific way, you can build a style guide for your CMS that automatically formats content or use a fill-in form format.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Investing in custom solutions is a big ask, yes, but it\u2019s a part of any digital transformation project. You can set up these systems in-house or on the cloud. If you\u2019re not sure which one to invest in, first understand the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.openlegacy.com\/blog\/on-premise-vs-cloud\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">difference between on-premises and cloud<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> computing, then select the one that suits your goals best.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Examples of design language<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are a few big brands and organisations that have made it their mission to develop and hone their design language. Take a look at how they\u2019ve mastered their design language for the betterment of their brand.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-12251\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Screenshot-2025-07-01-at-10.28.49.png\" alt=\"screenshot of examples of design language \" width=\"1240\" height=\"982\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<h3><strong>The World Health Organization (WHO)<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of the best examples of a design language in practice is the World Health Organization. They have a fully realised design language and have published their entire approach online for curious onlookers to take a peek.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here\u2019s what the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/data.who.int\/about\/datadot\/data-design-language\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">WHO<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> has to say about their design language:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cBy providing a consistent and explicit user interface design vocabulary for the action of inspection and selection, as well as a standardised component architecture, we enable powerful combinations of connected charts, while guaranteeing a consistent, simple and intuitive user experience.\u201d<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Apple\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Apple is a masterclass in showcasing how design language is more than just the visual elements. The Apple operating system on all of their devices changed the game when it came to user interface and journeys.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-12252\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Screenshot-2025-07-01-at-10.39.46.png\" alt=\"screenshot of Apple showcasing how design language is more than just the visual elements.\" width=\"1242\" height=\"728\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.apple.com\/newsroom\/2024\/09\/ios-18-is-available-today-making-iphone-more-personal-and-capable-than-ever\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Image sourced<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> from apple.com<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is beautiful, but more importantly, it is so intuitive to use that those who weren\u2019t well-versed in using Apple products could do everything they needed quickly and easily.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is that experience that defines their brand and is at the crux of their design language. The brand\u2019s fluid animations, beautiful designs, and sleek, modern minimalism add that unmistakable Apple touch across every product, from laptops and iPads to iPhones and the Apple Watch.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-12254\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Screenshot-2025-07-01-at-10.42.15.png\" alt=\"screenshot showing Apple touch across every product, from laptops and iPads to iPhones and the Apple Watch. \" width=\"1262\" height=\"460\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.apple.com\/home-app\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Image sourced<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> from apple.com<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Duolingo\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Duolingo is a household name, even amongst those who don\u2019t use it, thanks to its \u201cmemability\u201d. The design language itself is a stellar example of how bright, fun, and funny design can take a brand far. Duolingo\u2019s owl, its iconic bright green hue, and even the Feather Bold font are all essential elements of its design language.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12255 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Screenshot-2025-07-01-at-10.46.54.png\" alt=\"screenshot of Duolingo app\" width=\"851\" height=\"665\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.epicpxls.com\/items\/duolingo-language-learning-redesign\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Image sourced<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> from epicpxls.com<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The owl isn\u2019t the only icon used by the brand to great effect. Characters and icons are used to make the interface more relatable, enjoyable, and yes, even easier to learn with.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-12256 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Screenshot-2025-07-01-at-14.28.26.png\" alt=\"screenshot of duolingo app showing the haracters and icons that are used to make the interface more relatable and enjoyable.\" width=\"876\" height=\"1012\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.frontmatter.io\/blog\/duolingo-technology-and-design-shape-learning-journeys\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Image sourced<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> from frontmatter.io<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>How to create a design language that stands out<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sometimes, you may create a design language from scratch. This happens if your design or UI is inconsistent. Other times, however, you may define what you\u2019ve managed to do so far. Either way, use these steps to create your design language.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>1. Uncover and define your brand identity<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Invest in your brand identity. Research your target audience, the market, and your competition to understand how your brand sits currently and what you want to change. You\u2019ll also want to clarify your values and put them front and centre. For now, focus mostly on the philosophy of your brand identity. The personality, not the brand persona.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>2. Define the design principles\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you have defined your brand identity, you\u2019ll then need to establish your <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/ux-design-principles\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">design principles<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and use them to further flesh out your philosophy. What is your overall approach to your design elements? Is it fun and cheerful to show how playful and optimistic your brand is? Is it forward-facing and modern? Outline how the visuals and user interfaces will work together to bring your design philosophy to life.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Try to be as explicit as possible when defining your design philosophy. This will help your teams do more than follow style guides \u2013 it will help them embody your brand identity.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>3. Be inspired by the greats \u2013 but don\u2019t copy\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You don\u2019t need to pull design ideas out of the void. You can and should look at great <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/content-design-examples\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">content design examples<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and get inspiration from them. That being said, you also don\u2019t want to copy anything directly.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A good way to do this is to go through the competition or brands you admire and write down the ideas and UI pathways that you enjoy the most. Take those written-down explanations to a fresh team that hasn\u2019t done the research, and have them try to recreate those ideas in ways that resonate with your brand and use your unique voice.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>4. Audit your UI\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you have a new idea fleshed out, it\u2019s time to audit your current efforts. Giving your entire UI an audit will help you:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Identify key problem areas<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Understand where your branding isn\u2019t consistent<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Find issues with the UX flow<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Know where to focus first<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To conduct this audit, you\u2019ll need to go through and compare visual elements, tone of voice, and interactive elements.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For example, if you\u2019re an online retailer and your shirts section looks different from your jeans section, you have a problem. Note the differences, where they exist, and which is more effective. How can you tell which design is more effective than the other? You look at the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.wishpond.com\/post\/115675436162\/web-analytics-6-practical-ways-to-use-them-effectively\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">web analytics<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. If one page\u2019s design gets more traffic and click-through rates than another, there\u2019s a reason for it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-12259\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Screenshot-2025-07-01-at-14.55.25.png\" alt=\"screesnhot of 8 pink sticky notes \" width=\"1241\" height=\"843\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Free to use image sourced from Unsplash\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>5. Develop the user journey<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With a better understanding of where your current UI is holding you back, you can then start to develop a user journey that is fully intuitive. Keep in mind that this journey must accurately reflect the path users take as they navigate your website or app while aligning with your brand identity.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Consider what stages are involved in completing a task or achieving a goal. What actions do you want users to take at each stage? What design elements will they most likely engage with at this stage? How can you use design language to communicate with them and guide them towards a desired action?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s helpful to create a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/design-a-customer-journey-map\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">customer journey map<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> so you have a visual representation of these stages.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The user journey should be simple to understand and a breeze to use. From there, you can add fun details, like screen wipes for link clicks, pop-ups, and so on (if it suits your brand). You don\u2019t need to design it all from scratch, either. You can use an <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.jotform.com\/ai\/form-builder\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">AI form<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (for subscription sign-ups, newsletters, and more) that matches your design language in seconds.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>6. Create a visual vocabulary<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The next step is to go over your design choices from the previous stage, as well as ideas you\u2019ve gathered from other brands. Select the ones you want to keep, then start creating a visual vocabulary. This can be the colour palette you choose and how it needs to be applied (for example, a particular shade of blue is only used for links).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tone, voice, photography, and typography must all be explicitly selected and defined. There should be no misinterpretations about how something looks or works on your website or app.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>7. Create a component library\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Free to use image sourced from Unsplash<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Design language is all about providing a consistent and coherent experience. The easiest way to do this is to ensure your team has access to an organised, standardised set of digital assets in the form of a component library. This should also include a style guide document outlining all elements that make up your design language.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Doing this brings your design language to life and ensures consistency across all platforms, channels, and touchpoints, establishing a clear visual brand identity for your company.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Remember, this library will be a point of reference for your design team, so it should be comprehensive but not overly complicated. Incorporate logo iterations, colour swatches, patterns, icons, typography, and other visuals as well as guidelines for how and when to use each of them. For example, you might specify that a blue swatch only be used for CTA buttons or that your hero colour is used in all headlines.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Add plenty of in-action examples, mark up every asset so it\u2019s easy to find, and create checklists so your designers can proactively spot issues before your QC gets to it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>8. Implement your design language\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you have the overall design language, philosophy, and component library ready to go, it\u2019s time to put it to work. Start by bringing all your managers up to speed. If you train them on your design language and system, you can trust that the knowledge will trickle down to everyone else.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You\u2019ll want to start putting your design language to work on all new assets. As for the old ones, create a list based on priority. Your website\u2019s homepage is top priority, followed by its product design, product pages, email formatting, and so on.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>9. Keep it fresh<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nothing in business is stagnant, including your brand identity. That means your design language must also be kept fresh with regular updates. These updates, however, shouldn\u2019t be at any random whim. They need to be smart and data-driven.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The good news is that it\u2019s easy to make data-driven decisions today. You only need to use data tracking systems like web analytics for your website\u2019s design or <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dialpad.com\/blog\/computer-telephony-integration\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">computer telephony integration<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for your call centre.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These systems track data, particularly about user behaviour. This means just following along with what the numbers say will lead you straight to issues in your UI so that you can make improvements quickly.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Free to use image sourced from Unsplash<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Key takeaways<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your design language is a crucial part of digital design. It ensures consistency for users, speeds up the design workflow, gives you the flexibility to scale up when needed, and even impacts the usability of your product.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Creating a design language from scratch may sound complicated, but it doesn&#8217;t have to be. Follow the tips we\u2019ve outlined here and take it one step at a time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Start by researching your target audience, market, and competitors to create (or fine-tune) your brand identity. This will give you a foundation from which to start developing design principles\u2014that is, how you approach design so it aligns with your identity.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Look to big brands as well as competitors in your niche for inspiration. Analyse their UI as well as your own, and consider how your design language fits into the UI and customer journey.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you\u2019ve done all this, start to build your design language. Create a visual vocabulary and component library complete with a style guide for the team to access. Then, start rolling it out! Make sure everyone is aware of and has access to the relevant libraries, and offer additional support if needed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nailing design language will take time, and it\u2019s important to continue refreshing designs so they\u2019re modern and impactful. By making design language part of your design workflow, you can accelerate your company\u2019s design processes, streamline onboarding, and establish a strong brand identity that will garner trust among users.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In this article, we explore the benefits of design language, examples of companies that excel, and how to create a set of design language guidelines for your business.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":12263,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[273],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12233","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-how-to-guides"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12233","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12233"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12233\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12267,"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12233\/revisions\/12267"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12263"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12233"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12233"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12233"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}