The Hatch Conference: Part 2
The main reason I wanted to go to the Hatch Conference was because of this topic.
Before our team started working on a design system back in late 2020 / early 2021, I have been researching on the design system topic. And one of the most prominent results is Atomic Design by none other than Brad Frost.
I will not spend a lot of time here to explain what Atomic Design is, you can actually just google it. Or you can check out Brad Frost’s page to learn more about it.
I had my expectations about the day. I mean it was an invite-only thing, but plus ones or twos or threes were allowed. None the less, the conference was for seniors, leads, and managers in the UX, UXR and Product Design field. So I was expecting the content and discussions to be around design systems that already exist no matter how mature or not they are, as well as the challenges that everyone was facing.
It started with introductions, we were asked what we were expected to learn from the whole day. I was even able to bring my question or challenge in the round. A couple of the questions and challenges that were asked though felt like they were targeted more for those still thinking of applying the atomic way of designing to me.
Suffice it to say that my expectations were not met to 100%. I learned a couple of new things, my question was actually answered as well. The idea of having a core and then adding smart things to it was one. But that was really it. I was a bit disappointed that almost everything I heard was already known to me via the research that I did back them.
Now, I am not blaming anyone. The audience was very varied, both in experience but also challenges. It was not clear to me what exactly was going to be the topic so I assumed.
Still elated to have been part of it though, and to have met Brad in person. Would I do it again, yes! But with more prepping before committing.
Silke 