Leveraging Design Systems for Cost-Effective Multi-Brand and Omnichannel Strategies

Design systems streamline the design process by reusing components and patterns. This eliminates the need to create designs from scratch for every new project or brand. Design teams can instead focus on optimizing user experience and making incremental improvements, saving not only the cost of resources but also time.

By the way: this is not only the case for components from a design perspective, it’s also applicable from a development point of view when creating the UI for new applications or channels. And these can go hand-in-hand. 

A design system eliminates the need to start from scratch for every new project. Design systems mitigate redundancy by allowing design elements to be reused across different projects or brands. The reusable components and straightforward guidelines allow developers and designers to focus on more innovative work.

The result? Faster development cycles, easier maintenance, time-efficiency, and increased productivity across your brands' digital assets. 

Using a design system accelerates the product development cycle. Teams can quickly assemble designs using the components in the system, reducing the time to launch new sites or brands. This swift go-to-market strategy can provide a competitive edge and increase revenue, making it a cost-effective approach. 

Reusing components and modular system architecture reduces the need for developing bespoke systems for each brand or project, reducing both the time and cost of the initial development and design process. 

When updates or changes are needed, a design system makes it easier to implement these across all brands and sites simultaneously. This not only ensures consistency but also saves the cost of individual updates, resulting in long-term financial benefits. 

Design systems are inherently scalable. Add new features, scale your applications, or integrate new technology swiftly and efficiently.

As your multi-brand business grows, your digital architecture will adapt and grow with you, further supported by the scalable nature of design systems. This scalability results in significant cost savings as the business grows. 

A design system is a powerful tool that can optimize the design process, increase consistency, reduce redundancy, avoid rework and speed up the time to market. It can also foster better collaboration and make maintenance easier. By implementing a design system, businesses can save time, resources, and money, making it a cost-effective strategy for managing multiple brands and websites. 

At The Reference we work for several companies like DPG Media, LensOnline,  Axel Johnson International, Atlas Copco and Colruyt to develop their digital strategy and implementation of composable solutions related to multi-brand, multi-site and omnichannel challenges.   

Astara, the multi-brand mobility company with brands like Hyundai, Suzuki, Isuzu, SsangYong, MG, Maxus and Silence benefits from a composable architecture with a design system approach.