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Design Systems Repo VS Backlight

Compare Design Systems Repo VS Backlight and see what are their differences

Design Systems Repo logo Design Systems Repo

A collection of design system examples and resources

Backlight logo Backlight

Backlight is a unique collaborative platform to build Design Systems code-side.๐Ÿ“ Design tokens๐Ÿงฉ Component code and stories๐Ÿ“– Documentation site๐Ÿ“ฆ Managed release to npmEverything in one place, in a true collaborative workspace.Try ๐Ÿ‘‰ backlight.dev
  • Design Systems Repo Landing page
    Landing page //
    2019-01-21
  • Backlight Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-12-15

Design Systems Repo features and specs

  • Comprehensive Collection
    Design Systems Repo offers an extensive collection of design systems and related resources from various organizations and companies, making it a valuable repository for designers and developers seeking inspiration or references.
  • Categorization
    Resources are categorized effectively, allowing users to navigate through different topics such as style guides, pattern libraries, and design tokens with ease.
  • Community Contributions
    The platform is open to contributions from the community, which means it is frequently updated with new and diverse design systems from around the world.
  • Educational Value
    Design Systems Repo serves as an educational tool by offering insights into how established companies structure their design systems, which can be beneficial for teams creating their own.
  • Free Access
    The platform is free to use, providing a cost-effective resource for teams and individuals looking to explore design systems without a financial barrier.

Possible disadvantages of Design Systems Repo

  • Quality Variation
    Since the content is user-contributed, the quality and thoroughness of design systems can vary significantly, leading to a mix of highly detailed and somewhat superficial resources.
  • Lack of Customization
    While comprehensive, the platform does not offer tools for customization or direct integration into a userโ€™s workflow, limiting its utility beyond merely serving as a reference.
  • Outdated Resources
    There is no guarantee that all design system resources are up-to-date, which could mislead users if they rely on outdated practices or discontinued guidelines.
  • Search Functionality
    The search functionality might not be as robust as desired, potentially making it challenging to locate specific design systems or topics without thorough browsing.
  • Limited Interaction
    The platform focuses on curation rather than interaction, providing limited opportunities for users to discuss, critique, or ask questions about the design systems showcased.

Backlight features and specs

  • Collaborative Workflow
    Backlight allows team members to work together on design systems seamlessly, enhancing productivity and consistency through real-time collaboration.
  • Component Libraries
    The platform supports creating and managing component libraries efficiently, providing easy access and reusability of components across projects.
  • Versatile Integration
    Backlight offers integration with popular tools and frameworks, allowing for smooth adoption within existing development ecosystems.
  • User-Friendly Interface
    The interface is designed to be intuitive, making it accessible for both designers and developers to navigate and utilize the platform.
  • Scalability
    It supports large design systems, making it suitable for both small and enterprise-level projects, ensuring scalability as needs grow.

Possible disadvantages of Backlight

  • Learning Curve
    New users might experience a learning curve when getting started, particularly if they are not familiar with design system concepts.
  • Cost
    Depending on the plan or features required, the cost might be a barrier for smaller teams or independent developers.
  • Feature Overload
    Some users might find the abundance of features overwhelming if they only need basic functionalities.
  • Limited Offline Access
    As a cloud-based tool, it requires an internet connection, limiting usability when offline access is needed.
  • Dependency on Integration
    While versatile, the effectiveness of integrations may vary and be dependent on third-party tool updates or compatibility.

Analysis of Design Systems Repo

Overall verdict

  • Yes, Design Systems Repo is a highly regarded repository that is considered beneficial for individuals and teams involved in web and product design. It acts as a centralized hub for learning and inspiration, widely appreciated for its organized and curated content.

Why this product is good

  • Design Systems Repo offers a comprehensive collection of resources and tools that aid in the development and implementation of design systems. It provides links to various design system examples, articles, and tools, making it a valuable starting point for designers and developers who are looking to create or enhance their own design systems.

Recommended for

  • UI/UX designers
  • Front-end developers
  • Product managers
  • Design system enthusiasts
  • Teams building a unified design language

Design Systems Repo videos

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Backlight videos

Govee TV BackLight 3 Lite Review - The Difference Is UNREAL!

More videos:

  • Review - Awesome automations with the Govee T2 TV backlight--review and install
  • Review - Govee TV Backlight T1 vs T2 vs T3 Lite: See the difference!

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Design Systems Repo and Backlight)
Design Tools
84 84%
16% 16
Prototyping
100 100%
0% 0
Productivity
74 74%
26% 26
Developer Tools
73 73%
27% 27

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Backlight might be a bit more popular than Design Systems Repo. We know about 6 links to it since March 2021 and only 6 links to Design Systems Repo. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Design Systems Repo mentions (6)

  • How do you keep yourself updated with the latest design trends?
    There is still some value in understanding aesthetic trends, itโ€™s good to make sure your components and interactions are consistent with patterns people may be already familiar with. I like to nerd out on Design Systems Repo to view open source design system documentation. You can see how companies style their components, as well as how they work โ€œunder the hoodโ€ so to speak. I then like to compare it to their... Source: almost 3 years ago
  • Making a Design Systems collection, any more out there you know?
    This is the site I use to browse design systems: Https://designsystemsrepo.com/. Source: about 3 years ago
  • Design Systems online?
    Yup this. Also https://designsystemsrepo.com is worth a flick through as they have some interesting alternate takes. Source: about 3 years ago
  • Ask HN: Good resources for programmers to learn about UX/design?
    Design Systems Repo - A frequently updated collection of Design System examples, articles, tools and talks https://designsystemsrepo.com/ Awesome Design Systems https://github.com/alexpate/awesome-design-systems. - Source: Hacker News / over 3 years ago
  • Design system template or example
    So just to add to this source, you can also look around on https://designsystemsrepo.com They have a large collection of actual used design systems from companies around the world. Often times, their design systems are open to anyone. Iโ€™m not sure about the component library, but you can always check and see if they have a link. Source: almost 4 years ago
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Backlight mentions (6)

  • Show HN: Mirrorful โ€“ A developer-first way to implement designs faster
    Interesting. Two questions 1. How does this compare/relate to https://backlight.dev/. - Source: Hacker News / over 2 years ago
  • Tools for design system documentation
    You could look at backlight.dev by divriots. Source: almost 3 years ago
  • kickstartDS is Open Source now. Letโ€™s start to democratize Design Systems today
    Today quite some companies are already tackling similar problems. Talking of Knapsack.cloud, Backlight.dev, Specify, Supernova and many more, here. They all deliver value to simplify workflows for setup, integration, documentation and management of Design Systems. This is all super helpful in spreading the love about Design Systems to teams out there, and is a huge benefit to the process side of things. But you... - Source: dev.to / almost 3 years ago
  • free-for.dev
    Backlight โ€” With collaboration between developers and designers at heart, Backlight is a very complete coding platform where teams build, document, publish, scale and maintain Design Systems.Free plan allows up to 3 editors working on 1 design system with unlimited viewers. - Source: dev.to / almost 3 years ago
  • Vite in the browser
    Our products: Backlight.dev, Components.studio and WebComponents.dev, are running a server-side bundler optimizer for the past 2 years now. We created a Vite plugin for browser-vite to resolve node dependencies automatically. As of the date of this post, this server-side bundler is not open-sourced. - Source: dev.to / over 3 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Design Systems Repo and Backlight, you can also consider the following products

Eva Design System - A free customizable design system

Ant Design System for Figma - A large library of 2100+ handcrafted UI components

FigMayo - Effortless design system documentation

Invision - Prototyping and collaboration for design teams

Toolabs DSM - Design System Manager plugin for creating themeable designs

Angle 2 Mockups - A giant Sketch Library for creating app presentations