(Book Review) Atomic Design, 1st Edition

Overview

Review Published: May, 2019.

From web designer, speaker, and consultant Brad Frost comes a comprehensive guide to building working design systems for organizations.

From framework of a successful design system, to its introduction into an organization, this book serves as a detailed introduction to the atomic design system and how to use it in your own work.

Rating:

3.5 / 5

(Promising Content, Presentation is Clear)

What does this score mean?

Difficulty:

Intermediate (Some design & front-end coding experience is recommended).

Length:

189 pages.

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What's Good

Great framework & general advice; this book does a great job of introducing the overall framework of atomic design, and how it can be used to create a powerful and flexible design library.
Well researched & sourced; each chapter has links to several articles and examples that help to further illustrate the points being discussed, and provides further reading for those looking to go into more detail.
Approachable for an intermediate skill level; this book is well-written and very approachable, but does require a certain amount of experience with design and front-end development to get the most out of it.

What Can Be Improved

Scope is a bit limited; while the information provided forms a great basis for understanding design systems and their benefits, there are a few gaps in the content that could be filled to integrate it more tightly in the overall UX design process (i.e. addressing UX research and requirements, non-browser prototyping, style guide examples/templates using the atomic design model, understanding and addressing specific stakeholder concerns, etc.).

NOTE: If you’re looking to fill some of the gaps I mentioned above, I’d recommend taking a look at “Just Enough Research” (to better understand how UX research & usability-testing fits into the front-end design process), and “Articulating Design Decisions” and “Design for Cognitive Bias” (as they’re great guides for understanding and addressing specific stakeholder concerns).

The Bottom Line

Provides a comprehensive introduction to design systems; by explaining and illustrating how design systems work and how they can be leveraged by organizations for increased efficiencies, this book is a worthwhile introduction to building those systems for your own work.
For UX & Front-end Developers looking to get a start on design systems; this book provides a valuable foundation for turning design work into a reusable system of components, but does require that you are familiar with various design and development practices to fully understand the information being presented.
Lots of value for the money; even though there are a few gaps in the content (filling these would make for a nearly flawless 2nd edition), you’ll be hard-pressed to find a more comprehensive introduction to design systems for the $10 price point.