Frequently Asked Questions

What is a design system?

A design system is a set of design foundations, reusable components, and repeatable patterns that designers and developers use to create products. A good design system creates consistency and efficiency in building software products.

Who is building this system?

GDS is built by Brad Siefert, Brendan Nofs, and Matt Huntsberry. Roie Reuveni did excellent work creating icons for GDS. Edit Peled keeps the system accessible for everyone. James Acklin and Jim Jerse got the ball rolling. Joanna Vasiliakis is the boss.

Is GDS ready to use?

Yes! Absolutely. There are parts that are still in development, but GDS is the future and the present. Designers and developers alike should start adopting GDS in their products. The sooner everyone starts using it, the sooner we’ll enjoy the benefits that a single design system brings.

What if I don’t see a component I need for one of my products?

Let’s talk about it! We may have a different vision for the UI you’re trying to build or maybe we haven’t even thought about building your component yet. We want GDS to work well for everyone at Nielsen. Please grab some time with us if you have specific UI needs we haven’t addressed.

Which products are going to use GDS?

Anything that’s being built new should use GDS. Some retrofitting of applications will happen. Those priorities will be determined by product leadership.

What technology platforms can use GDS?

All platforms. We’re building GDS to be a cohesive set of UI components and design patterns that will work on mobile and web applications.

My web application uses [name of once trendy javascript framework]. Can I use GDS?

The answer is almost certainly yes. GDS is being built as a set of React components in MAF and as Lit Web Components that work with any frontend framework. Nielsen applications using React, Angular, Vue, Svelte, etc. can all use GDS.

What about Gracenote?

Gracenote is included in GDS! One of the key parts of building GDS with Web Components is to enable Gracenote to adopt the GDS components more quickly. We’re excited to align Gracenote and Nielsen’s UIs to look and work together more seamlessly.