Design Systems Report 2025

Zeroheight’s “Design Systems Report 2025” offers an in-depth analysis of the industry.

Based on a sample of about 300 professionals, it provides a detailed overview of the evolution of this tool and identifies the main challenges to be faced.

Cover image of the Design Systems Report 2025

Key findings

1. Dedicated teams grow

One of the most interesting data concerns the growth of teams dedicated to design systems: more and more companies are investing resources and people to maintain and evolve these tools, a sign of a growing maturity in the industry. It is no longer just a practice for a few entities, but a strategic asset for many organizations.

2. Secrets to successful adoption

The data show that the adoption of an effective design system depends not only on technical quality, but also on communication andintegration into workflows. Teams that succeed in explaining the value of the design system to business leaders and educating colleagues achieve more widespread and smooth adoption.

3. Design tokens adoption is growing

• 84% of teams have adopted design tokens, confirming their importance in improving design consistency and efficiency.
• Only 10% of teams are using AI for documentation and idea generation, suggesting that there is still plenty of room to experiment with new technologies.

4. Unification of design and code

Another key trend is the increasing focus on the design token pipeline.

When designers and developers work together to make these processes more fluid, the entire ecosystem benefits: more speed in rebranding, fewer errors, and more consistency between design and development.

A pipeline refers to an automated workflow that manages the transfer and transformation of design tokens from design to code. It is like a digital assembly line that ensures that visual components and their properties are translated correctly from design to technical implementation.

In practice, a pipeline automates processes such as:

• the conversion of design values (colors, typography, spacing) into usable formats for developers
• the synchronization of changes between design tools and code
• the automatic generation of the code needed to implement the defined styles

5. Measuring success

More and more companies are realizing that it is critical to monitor the use of their design system.

Collecting data and feedback from internal users allows you to demonstrate the value of your investment and continuously improve the system.

6. What lies ahead in the future

The report confirms that design systems are becoming increasingly central to the world of design and development. Improving communication between teams, better integrating processes, and leveraging new technologies such as artificial intelligence are the challenges of the present and near future.

Go to the full report →