Design System
A series of components that can be reused in different combinations — allowing for consistency, scaling, and efficiency.
Origin
The modern concept evolved from corporate identity programs of the 1960s–70s, such as NASA's 1975 Graphics Standards Manual by Danne & Blackburn. Architect Christopher Alexander's 1977 book A Pattern Language inspired the idea of reusable design patterns. The term gained its current digital meaning in the late 2000s, accelerated by Twitter Bootstrap (2011), Brad Frost's Atomic Design methodology (2013), and Google's Material Design (2014), which established design systems as standard practice in software development.
Everyday Use
Think of LEGO bricks: a finite set of standardized pieces that snap together to build almost anything. Design systems work the same way for digital products — buttons, forms, colors, and typography are defined once and reused everywhere, so a team of fifty designers doesn't produce fifty different-looking screens.