Creating a Design System
This article references the new DSM, released for Early Access on May 5, 2020. Built on feedback from DSM customers, the new DSM offers a completely redesigned experience. Learn more about why we made the new DSM.
Depending on your preferred workflow, you can create a new design system from either the DSM website or the DSM Sketch plugin.
Creating a design system via DSM on the web
To create a new design system via DSM on the web:
- Sign in to DSM on the web.
- Near the top right, click the Create button.
If you’re a legacy DSM customer, you can next toggle on Create a legacy library. Soon, you’ll also be able to import legacy DSM libraries as new design systems. To learn more, check out this article: Should I Upgrade to the New DSM?
- Enter a name for your design system.
- Optionally, add a description and upload an image. This image will be used as the system’s icon in the design systems list.
- Set the permissions to Only people invited can view or Anyone at your organization can view.
- Click Create.
Creating a design system via Sketch
To create a new design system via the DSM Sketch plugin:
- In the DSM Sketch plugin panel above the left-hand layers list, click the DSM icon (
). - At the top right of the DSM window, click the settings icon (
). - Click New Design System.
- Enter a name. Optionally, add a description and upload an image.
- Set the permissions to Only people invited can view or Anyone at your organization can view.
- Click Create.
Uploading a Sketch file to DSM
To begin developing your design system, you’ll need to upload one or more Sketch files that contain all your assets.
To get the most out of your DSM experience, we recommend applying a certain structure to your Sketch file. For more information on how to best structure a Sketch file for uploading to DSM, check out this article: Best practices for using Sketch with DSM
To upload a Sketch file:
- Open the Sketch file you want to use as the basis for your design system.
- In the DSM Sketch plugin panel above the left-hand layers list, click the upload icon (
).
Depending on whether or not you've previously uploaded a document, the plugin panel will show either Upload document or Push changes. - In the DSM window, next to your preferred design system, click the upload icon (
). If it's the first document added, you can alternatively click the Upload Sketch document button. - Click the upload button (
).
Once the file is uploaded, it becomes a DSM managed library that can be added to Sketch.
To learn more about DSM managed libraries and how to add them to Sketch, check out this article: What Are DSM Managed Libraries?