Three architectural choices define the current system， including 216 annotated components, each built to maintain a consistent design language across every product pivot.
Here is how the system is structured.

The annotation framework I built for engineer handoff was packaged as a standalone Figma file and shared publicly on Figma Community for other designers to use.

These decisions didn't come naturally. When I first built the component library, my instinct was the most literal one: list every possible card state as a separate variant. One component could have dozens of options. It worked for communication, but it was really hard to maintain or scale.

Through self-directed learning and continuous iteration with our engineer, I discovered that a well-structured component doesn't need to show every possibility. It needs to make every possibility composable.

Building a design system from scratch at an early stage startup taught me as much about restraint as it did about craft. If I were testing a core flow or MVP again, I would start with an existing system and customize later. Speed matters more than originality when you're still validating. But for a product like Fellos with such a specific visual identity, building from scratch was the right call. I wrote more about this journey here.