FREE TEMPLATE — Design Systems Decoded
This template accompanies EP03 — The Charter Document.
Free with newsletter subscription. Link from the EP03 Quick Win section.
Purpose: Write the charter before the first component. Two pages. Four sections. Shared before any design work begins.
From the series by Alex Aljabawi — uxarena.net
A design system without a charter is a conversation everyone is having in a different language.
This document answers four questions before anyone builds anything.
Two pages maximum. Written before the first component. Shared with three people before any design work begins.
Read this first. The fictional company is Northfield — a 220-person financial services company with five product squads rebuilding their customer portal.
Version: 1.0
Written by: Design Systems Lead + Engineering Lead
Date: Q1 2026