Moments of Clarity

16 Nov 2022

Clarity Conference 2022

This year I attended Clarity Conference, the premier design system conference, virtually along with my PayPal teammate Silvia Recinos.

I’ve captured my favorite lessons from two days full of great design systems knowledge. #clarity2022

Day 1 - Morning

It’s that time of year when Design System folks gather together at Clarity Conference.

This morning was filled with great talks by Dan Mall, Amy Hupe, and Anna Cook.

Dan Mall - A design system is an organization’s canon.

Anna E Cook: Creating a more accessible design system empowers teams to build inclusive products.

Amy Hupe - Introducing a new tool or process without changing mindsets and behaviors is like flicking a light switch in one room and expecting the lights in the whole house to come on.

Day 1 - Afternoon

Day 1 wrapped up with great talks by Kathryn Gonzalez, sharing a journey of scaling the design system at Door Dash, Esther Cheran showcasing the Token Zen Garden, and Valerie P. sharing ideas about the future of management.

Katheryn Gonzalez - How do you figure out what to focus on, and how do you bootstrap a function?

Valerie Phoenix - Learning the soft skills will take daily practices. As leaders it’s our job to help people find ways to practice these skills often.

Valerie Phoenix - Key Takeaways: The future is Human Centered, Reskilling Brings Innovation, Expand Your Wings

Day 2

Day 2 highlights include Hayley Hughes teaching us how to lead design systems, Stéphanie Walter (she/her) teaching us how to better annotate important accessibility details, Linda Dong sharing the history and strategy of the Apple HIG, and Ben Callahan breaking down the types of cultures we build.

Hayley Hughes - Design systems leaders know the organization better than anyone else

Ben Callahan - Organizational Culutre is made up of three layers: What you see, what people say, what people believe

Linda Dong - (Screenshots of component documentation pages)

Would Recommend 👍

If you’re in the design system business or want to learn more about it, I highly recommend checking Clarity Conference out for yourself.

Thanks for organizing such a wonderful great event 🖤 Jina A. and team!