How (and why) to create a design playbook
For 200,000 years, our entire culture existed only as thoughts. All knowledge was social and oral. Scholars passed teachings on to their students, who passed them on to their students.
Roughly 5,500 years ago, though, humans developed writing — to communicate not just with each other, but across time and space. From its first uses (naming and counting things) to now, we’ve leveraged writing to keep accounts, record systems and document history.
One such instance of writing that stretches across time and space happens to be the design playbook.
This living, breathing document is, in my opinion, the foundation of a strong and agile design team. It is at once a documentation of processes and a codification of values that enable harmony in diversity. It builds on the belief that your product is only as good as your team — and your team needs structure and clarity to function at their best.
The “why” of a design playbook
When a handful of designers are working on one small project, it’s relatively easy to sync up and ensure consistency. But for a team that aspires to grow in number and skillset, hacky approaches and introduction by immersion become a threat. They turn into time- and productivity-sinks.
Teams are dynamic; design is constant
A design playbook operates on the premise that members of a team cycle out every few years, but the need for a solid design system is lasting. Operationalising processes ensures that new members can dive into the deep end right away, and with minimum hiccups.
A single source of truth
Having one touchstone across cross-functional teams is integral to maximising consistency and harmony. The playbook, then, becomes a single source of truth. It informs design decisions regardless of how a team is split or what part of the product each person or pod owns. It forms a predicable foundation that supports creative and innovative decisions without too much design debt.
Better team collaboration
A design team often consists of people with a wide variety of skillsets. That means, to get the most out of everyone’s expertise, the whole needs to be better than the sum of its parts. Defining standards and adhering to them across functions is one way to enable that multiplication. A playbook has the potential to remove subjectivity and prevent friction within and between teams.
A potential talent magnet
From our experience as a 10-year-old consultancy, a design playbook is also a great hiring strategy in and of itself. We’ve hired many stellar designers who went through our playbook and saw themselves as being part of a team that works this way.
Velocity over speed
We often conflate speed with progress. But moving fast does not always mean moving forward — it’s just movement. With the added factor of direction, velocity is what a design team should aim for. When a team is focused on one goal, they’ll get there no matter the speed.
A design playbook makes velocity possible by defining goals and outlining the best ways to get there. Just as importantly, it tells you what not to focus on — eliminating distractions and streamlining focus at every stage of the design process makes it that much easier to reach the right results faster.
How to create a design playbook
Now that we’ve established the “why” of a design playbook, the next question is “how”.
Choose the right communication channel
A design playbook needs to be easily accessible in a pinch, so that consulting it at points of confusion becomes second nature. That means it needs to be centrally located and easy to navigate. A search function is key. Many organisations (including ours) use Notion and GitBook; Outline is a cheaper alternative and Google Docs is free, if a tad clunky.
Embrace co-creation
One person alone can’t create a design playbook. It’s a documentation of what’s going on on the ground, so it needs to involve the people who carry out these processes. Schedule brainstorming sessions between and within teams to build the playbook from the ground up. Use FigJam, crazy eights, or Post-Its, then synthesise and build on ideas.
Ensure it is articulate enough that other stakeholders are also able to see its value. In short, treat it like a mini design project. A collaborative final result — one that leverages everyone’s know-how — will create more satisfaction and individual ownership.
Aim for a unicycle first
Just like in design, you won’t reach the final form of the playbook within a week of beginning work on it. Instead, aim for a unicycle: a basic framework that, well, does the job. A good starting point is to begin documenting existing processes first, and introducing structure and changes later.
Once you’ve taken this unicycle for a spin, you’ll experience more use cases that enable you to add wheels and funky upgrades over time. Not to flog a dead metaphor but, pretty soon, you’ll have a full-fledged road bike that can navigate any terrain.
Stand on the shoulders of giants
Resist the urge to reinvent the wheel. It’s far wiser to build on top of the great work that already exists. These might be processes that work for your team, or external playbooks that work for other companies. Many playbooks (like Convivio’s and Obvious’) are open source and available for reference. Learn from them, build on top and give credit where due.
Define the “why”
When you have a design team that owns different parts of the product, it’s too easy to default to working in silos. Defining the “why” — a common purpose and goal that harmonises everything a team does — and enforcing it can promote unity in diversity.
Adapt industry-standard practices to ground reality
A design playbook is not a utopian document that you aspire towards but never reach. You want it to be clear, concise and, above all, helpful. To do that, you’ll need to ensure processes are adapted to your reality so that they’re usable while also achieving higher levels of cohesion, productivity and success.
Sequence information
When structuring your playbook, consider sequencing information or sections in a linear fashion. Start with the higher-level objectives, and move into processes and team-specific principles. Design is often non-linear, but documentation can be structured enough to help designers visualise the ideal process from start to finish. This also helps them find the information they need when they need it.
Test and iterate
It’s good practice to return to your design playbook every 6 months or so to evaluate what is and isn’t working. Accountability is key: don’t feel afraid to call out what’s on paper but not in practice. Encourage teammates to do so regularly, too. After all, design playbooks are living documents that evolve with time and experience.
Conclusion: constraints are good for creativity
Design playbooks, in the right shape and form, aren’t limiting or restrictive. They’re a solid foundation for design teams to build and innovate on top of. They funnel energy and time towards the right goals while freeing designers from distractions and busywork.
And when you have a vision and a plan, a lot more opportunities spring to life!
Special thanks to Dhruv Saxena, Rahul Gonsalves and the larger design community in India for influencing the contents of this article.
