Design systems and interaction design patterns are now indispensable components of constructing high-quality, effective digital products. They are uniform, they make designs scalable, and they are familiar to the user. With pre-built components, they are faster at design and free up teams to address more challenging problems.

But there’s also the risk that these models will choke off innovation. Designers that can’t think outside the box might not be able to come up with anything creative as long as they use standard parts. Experimentation and breaking boundaries are part of the creative process, and too rigid an application of design processes can lead to suppression of it.

But don’t forget that you can have creativity and order at the same time. Design systems can act as a scaffolding that lends the efficiency needed but still makes room for creative approaches. Design can play around with these limits – they can make use of the systems as a source of creativity instead of hinderance. The trick is when to play by the rules, and when to push against them in the name of innovation.