Title

AWS re:Invent 2022 - Discover Cloudscape, an open-source design system for the cloud (OPN204)

Summary

Olga Matejska, a senior manager at AWS, introduces Cloudscape, an open-source design system developed by AWS.
AWS offers over 220 services, and the AWS Management Console was built by numerous "two pizza teams," leading to inconsistencies in design and user experience.
The Cloudscape design system was created to address these inconsistencies and to help AWS teams build services more efficiently.
The journey began with identifying core "hero flows" across top AWS services and creating an inventory of over 100 components.
Cloudscape was launched in 2017 and has been adopted by 90% of AWS consoles by 2020.
The design system was made open-source in July 2022, allowing the broader community to benefit and contribute.
Cloudscape includes a solid design foundation, working code, design tooling, resources, and UI guidelines to ensure consistent experiences.
The system is built on design tokens, follows atomic design principles, and offers light and dark modes, as well as compact and comfortable density modes.
Cloudscape facilitates accessibility, responsiveness, and browser compatibility.
The design system has significantly impacted AWS by improving delivery speed, allowing teams to focus on customer problems, and ensuring high standards.
Cloudscape is particularly useful for products that extend the AWS Management Console, hybrid cloud management systems, on-premises solutions using AWS, and data-intensive interfaces.

The Cloudscape design system is a strategic initiative by AWS to unify the design and development process across its vast array of services, improving consistency and efficiency.
By open-sourcing Cloudscape, AWS not only democratizes access to its design system but also benefits from community contributions, which can lead to improvements in the system itself.
The use of design tokens and atomic design principles in Cloudscape allows for a high degree of customization and scalability, which is essential given the diverse needs of AWS services and customers.
The introduction of light and dark modes, as well as density modes, reflects AWS's commitment to user experience and accessibility, catering to different user preferences and working environments.
Cloudscape's impact on AWS highlights the value of design systems in large organizations, where they can lead to significant time savings, improved cross-team communication, and a focus on innovation rather than repetitive design tasks.
The hands-on workshop and the opportunity to meet the team at the AWS re:Invent booth indicate AWS's efforts to engage with and grow the Cloudscape user and contributor community.