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The grammar
Every question, once.
The master list every scheme answers. 18 reason questions and 60 scope questions, each with a stable id. Every scope answers the same five questions: roles, how many, how defined, values, lands in. The answers make each design system.
- Reasons 18
- Scopes 60
- Tokens reference
- Component API keys
Reasons · 18 questions
- Business and product2 questionsWhy the product exists and what it does for the business. It frames every later answer.
- People and work context2 questionsWho uses the product, how often and with what abilities.
- Content and data2 questionsWhat fills the screen.
- Tasks and flows2 questionsWhat people do with the content.
- Human factors2 questionsAttention, memory and effort.
- Outcomes2 questionsWhat success looks like and what failure costs.
- Brand2 questionsHow the brand should feel in the interface.
- Use scenarios2 questionsWhere and for how long people use the product. Written scenarios follow from these answers.
- Team and delivery2 questionsWho keeps the system right, and how fast it changes.
Scopes · 60 questions
- Typography5 questionsHow text is set: roles, sizes and line height.
- Color5 questionsHow color carries action, state and brand.
- Spacing5 questionsHow space shows what belongs together.
- Shape5 questionsCorners and borders.
- Elevation5 questionsWhen something rises above the page, and what separates groups.
- Motion5 questionsWhat moves, why and how fast.
- Iconography5 questionsWhen icons appear and how they look.
- Theming5 questionsModes and brands.
- Accessibility5 questionsFloors the system must hold.
- Naming5 questionsHow tokens and keys are named.
- Voice and tone5 questionsHow the product speaks: the words in every component.
- Components5 questionsWhich components the system carries: its inventory, picked from the catalogue.
Rules of the grammar
- · A question is never asked about a component. Components receive the answers.
- · Every scope answers the same five questions: roles, how many, how defined, values, lands in.
- · Every scope answer has a because: a reason id, or another answer’s id.
- · Written text, such as voice and scenarios, is an output. It lists the answers it follows.
- · Ids never change. Options are finite. A new option is proposed like a new question.
- · Tokens and component keys follow from answers and are reference, not questions.