To-Do List Building a New Design System with React

Introduction

Building a new Design System with React is an exciting project that requires careful planning and execution to ensure scalability, maintainability, and usability. Below is a detailed to-do list to guide you through the process, tailored to React and modern best practices as of February 24, 2025. This list assumes you’re starting from scratch and want to leverage React 19 features, though it’s adaptable to earlier versions.

Phase 1: Planning and Research
Phase 2: Setup and Infrastructure
Phase 3: Design Tokens and Theming
Phase 4: Component Development
Phase 5: Documentation and Guidelines
Phase 6: Testing and Validation
Phase 7: Deployment and Maintenance
Phase 8: Team Adoption
Optional Enhancements

Phase 1: Planning and Research

Define Goals and Scope

Identify the purpose (e.g., standardize UI across apps, improve dev velocity).

List target consumers (e.g., internal teams, open-source community).

Decide scope (e.g., components, tokens, docs, accessibility).

Gather Requirements

Collaborate with designers for visual guidelines (colors, typography, spacing).

Interview stakeholders (devs, PMs) for functional needs.

Research existing systems (e.g., Material-UI, Chakra UI) for inspiration.

Choose Tech Stack

Use React 19 (stable as of Dec 2024) for latest features (e.g., React Compiler, Server Components).

Select a build tool: Vite (fast, modern) or Create React App (simpler).

Pick a styling solution: Emotion, Styled-Components, or CSS-in-JS with sx (MUI-style).

Decide on TypeScript (recommended for type safety).

Plan Deliverables

Component library (e.g., Button, Input).

Design tokens (colors, typography, spacing).

Documentation site (e.g., Storybook).

Testing strategy (unit, visual regression).

Phase 2: Setup and Infrastructure

Initialize Project

Create a new repo:

npm create vite@latest my-design-system --template react-ts
cd my-design-system
npm install

Commit initial setup to Git.

Install Core Dependencies

React and React DOM:

npm install react@19 react-dom@19

Styling (e.g., Emotion):

npm install @emotion/react @emotion/styled

Testing:

npm install --save-dev vitest @testing-library/react @testing-library/user-event

Configure Build Tool

For Vite, update vite.config.ts:

import { defineConfig } from 'vite';
import react from '@vitejs/plugin-react';

export default defineConfig({
  plugins: [react()],
});

Set Up Testing

Configure Vitest in vite.config.ts:

export default defineConfig({
  plugins: [react()],
  test: {
    environment: 'jsdom',
    setupFiles: './setupTests.ts',
  },
});

Create `setupTests.ts`:

import '@testing-library/jest-dom';

Initialize Storybook

Install and configure:

npx storybook@latest init

Start Storybook:

npm run storybook

Set Up CI/CD

Add .circleci/config.yml:

version: 2.1
jobs:
  build-and-test:
    docker:
      - image: cimg/node:18.17
    steps:
      - checkout
      - run: npm ci
      - run: npm test
workflows:
  build:
    jobs:
      - build-and-test

Phase 3: Design Tokens and Theming

Define Design Tokens

Create `src/theme/tokens.ts`:

export const colors = {
  primary: '#007bff',
  secondary: '#6c757d',
};
export const typography = {
  fontFamily: 'Roboto, sans-serif',
  h1: { fontSize: '2rem' },
};
export const spacing = (factor: number) => `${factor * 8}px`;

Create Theme Structure

Build `src/theme/index.ts`:

import { colors, typography, spacing } from './tokens';

export const theme = {
  colors,
  typography,
  spacing,
};

Implement Theme Provider

Use React Context:

// src/theme/ThemeProvider.tsx
import { createContext, useContext } from 'react';
const ThemeContext = createContext(theme);

export const ThemeProvider = ({ children }) => (
  <ThemeContext.Provider value={theme}>{children}</ThemeContext.Provider>
);

export const useTheme = () => useContext(ThemeContext);

Phase 4: Component Development

Create Core Components

Example: Button (`src/components/Button.tsx`):

import { useTheme } from '../theme';

type ButtonProps = {
  children: React.ReactNode;
  variant?: 'primary' | 'secondary';
};

export const Button = ({ children, variant = 'primary' }: ButtonProps) => {
  const { colors } = useTheme();
  const backgroundColor = variant === 'primary' ? colors.primary : colors.secondary;

  return (
    <button style={{ backgroundColor, padding: '8px 16px', border: 'none' }}>
      {children}
    </button>
  );
};

Write Stories

`src/components/Button.stories.tsx`:

import { Button } from './Button';

export default {
  title: 'Components/Button',
  component: Button,
};

export const Primary = () => <Button>Click Me</Button>;
export const Secondary = () => <Button variant="secondary">Click Me</Button>;

Add Unit Tests

`src/components/Button.test.tsx`:

import { render, screen } from '@testing-library/react';
import { Button } from './Button';
import { ThemeProvider } from '../theme';

describe('Button', () => {
  it('renders with primary variant', () => {
    render(
      <ThemeProvider>
        <Button>Click Me</Button>
      </ThemeProvider>
    );
    expect(screen.getByText('Click Me')).toHaveStyle('background-color: #007bff');
  });
});

Plan Component List

Core: Button, Input, Typography, Card.

Phase 5: Documentation and Guidelines

Enhance Storybook

Add usage docs in stories:

Primary.parameters = {
  docs: { description: { story: 'A primary button for main actions.' } },
};

Create Design Guidelines

Document in `docs/` or Storybook:

Color usage.

Typography scale.

Accessibility standards (WCAG 2.1 AA).

Versioning

Use semantic versioning in package.json:

"version": "0.1.0"

Phase 6: Testing and Validation

Run Unit Tests

`npm test` with Vitest.

Test Accessibility

Install `axe-core`:

npm install --save-dev @axe-core/react

Add to tests:

import { axe } from 'jest-axe';
it('is accessible', async () => {
  const { container } = render(<Button>Click Me</Button>);
  expect(await axe(container)).toHaveNoViolations();
});

Browser Testing

Test in Chrome, Firefox, Safari via Storybook.

Phase 7: Deployment and Maintenance

Build Library

Configure Vite for library mode (vite.config.ts):

export default defineConfig({
  build: {
    lib: {
      entry: 'src/index.ts',
      name: 'MyDesignSystem',
      fileName: 'my-design-system',
    },
    rollupOptions: {
      external: ['react', 'react-dom'],
    },
  },
});

Build:

npm run build

Publish to npm

`npm publish --access public` (after login).

Set Up Maintenance

Add CHANGELOG.md.

Create GitHub Issues for feedback.

Phase 8: Team Adoption

Demo to Team

Host a session showing Storybook and usage.

Integrate into a Sample App

Create a demo app using the design system.

Gather Feedback

Iterate based on team input.

Optional Enhancements

Add Dark Mode

Extend theme with `mode: 'light' | 'dark'`.

Use React 19 Features

Explore `useActionState` for forms, `useOptimistic` for UX.

Visual Regression Testing

Integrate with tools like Chromatic.