Top of Mind: June 29 2026

Lately I've been in the weeds of Design Systems and AI, probably like most folks reading this. Here's what I'm currently tinkering with and thinking about.

https://llmstxt.org/ is a proposal for standardizing how to surface content to LLMs. It looks pretty promising. I first saw it with Cloudscape. I like the idea of it – mostly because it serves as documentation for both humans and LLMs.

That's especially important for Design Systems. Having a backing *.md file for each component just makes sense. We'll see how it all shakes out, or if it just blows up context.

https://designsystemdocspec.org/ is something else I'm keeping my eye on. PJ does great stuff, and I'm excited to see where this goes and give it a go here soon.

"DSDS (Design System Documentation Spec) is a JSON format for documenting design systems. It puts every piece of docs — components, tokens, themes, foundations, patterns — in a machine-readable shape."

"Key idea: DSDS documents the how and why of your design system — not the token values themselves. It complements the W3C Design Tokens Format which handles the what."

I like that it's JSON. I also like how it documents the how and why. And of course complementing the W3C Design Tokens Format is very cool.

It sure seems like Design Systems are getting a lot more traction and being seen as critical infrastructure. The fact that Design Tokens are standardized is a step in the right direction. PJ's spec covers documentation for Design Systems. I really wonder what will be next?

I like to keep my eye on browser features. Here are a few things I'm currently excited about.

Who hasn't wanted to customize the built-in Select element? What more is there to say? I'm super excited about this. Having combobox support eventually will be amazing as well. Browser features just keep getting better and better.

Intent to ship: Reference Target

For all of us Web Component / shadow DOM folk, I'm really pumped for this one too. Here is the explainer. I've been following the phase 2 feedback issue for a while. Browsers, man. Hell yeah.

Go check out Una's Modern CSS article. Lots of great stuff in there that I won't repeat here. And also, wow, a great looking site! I'm digging the View Transitions.

With code being "cheap" with AI, Design Systems are more important than ever. Like many folks in this space, I'm optimistic that Design Systems are here to stay and leadership will see the value. I think the key is ensuring your system(s) ship with good documentation and help solve real needs in the product.

It's no longer about the speed/velocity of shipping to production. That's the easy part now. I believe it will be about shipping high quality, well-tested features, with a UI/UX that your users expect more quickly. And Design Systems help with that.

"Should designers code?"

For a long time, I'd see this question on LinkedIn almost daily. It's been popping up again. I bite my tongue responding. I find it extremely annoying. I've always been in the "let people do what they want" camp, rather than cramming shit down people's throats/minds.

But if designers do want to dabble in code, especially now with AI tools that lower the barrier to entry, I'm for it.

I think it helps each side appreciate one another's craft. I can better understand design challenges, while folks with a design background can understand coding challenges. This is all basic stuff around breaking down silos. When I was at Toyota, we really focused on pairing and cross-training. It reminds me of that quite a bit.

It'll increase collaboration. It really does help bridge the gap between design and engineering.

It may not be for everyone, but it does build trust, respect, and helps curious/learning minds. So who are we to limit people? Shouldn't we want what's best for our team members? Let them spread their wings, I say!

It's probably due to AI, but almost everything I use is more complex than it was 2 years ago. I imagine simplistic apps/web apps will make a comeback at some point. I at least hope so. I really want Siri to be able to play the right song instead of thinking I asked her to call Marc (sorry Marc) while on a run, nearing death, needing a song to push me through the pain.

Take care and be kind to yourself and others. Later!