Mike sits down with TJ Pitre, Product Architect for Design Systems and AI at Figma and the founder of Southleft, a design systems consultancy trusted by teams at NASDAQ, Caterpillar, Indeed, and IBM.
TJ explains why sprinkling AI into a design system without proper context creates chaos rather than speed. His framing sticks with you. You are safe while you are walking the AI. The moment it gets ahead of you, you have lost the thread. He walks through FigmaLint, the validator his team built to bulletproof components before handoff, and makes the case that design systems are really just context for the machine.
They also get into the reverse design systems workflow that starts from vibe coded products, why Meta's Asterix points at a design system as an API, the Tailwind versus classic CSS debate, and whether off the shelf component libraries still matter.
Then the honest agency talk. Loving the work more than the business, giving away your best tools for free, and the million dollar question every founder hits.
Topics covered:
- AI chaos in design systems
- Walking or swimming with AI
- Design systems as agreement
- FigmaLint and design system quality
- The million dollar question
- Embrace the cringe
Website: https://southleft.com
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