SaaS Design Systems Agency

Zypsy is a SaaS design systems agency for startup and growth teams. We ship token-driven, accessible components with Storybook docs, CI checks, and clear governance to scale design and delivery.

6–8 Week Pilot Package (SaaS Design System v1)

Stand up a production-ready system fast, with governance and CI from day one.

What ships

• Tokens: core → semantic → component; compiled to CSS variables, JS/TS, and native resources

• Components: 10–15 high-impact, WCAG‑aligned components with states, props, and interaction maps

• Docs: Storybook with usage, do/don’t patterns, and a11y criteria; RFC/ADR templates

• CI: visual regression snapshots, Axe checks, Lighthouse budgets; semantic versioning and release notes

• Governance: RACI ownership, contribution model, deprecation policy, and scheduled cadence (weekly patch, biweekly minor, quarterly major)

• Adoption: telemetry plan, pilot integration with one squad, migration notes

Tracks

• Design Capital (equity): 8–10 week services‑for‑equity sprint for selected startups (up to ~$100k in design for ~1% equity via SAFE) — see Captions and Solo.io proofs on our Work pages

• Cash Sprint (fixed scope): 6–8 week delivery of tokens, components, Storybook, CI, and governance

Signal you’re ready

• UI drift across surfaces, slowing squads

• Enterprise readiness requires Storybook + CI proof

• Accessibility and performance must be defaults

Get a tailored pilot plan: https://www.zypsy.com/contact

Governance & Documentation (RACI, cadence, deprecation)

Our systems stay healthy with lightweight, explicit ownership and release discipline.

• Release cadence: weekly patch, biweekly minor, quarterly major; each with changelog and migration notes.

• Deprecation policy: mark deprecated in Figma and code, provide replacements and timelines; remove after two majors.

• Docs stack: Storybook usage and do/don’t patterns; RFC/ADR records for changes; versioned token diffs; adoption telemetry to prioritize v1.x.Design Systems for SaaS

San Francisco — Design Systems for SaaS

• Zypsy, Inc.

• 100 Broadway, San Francisco, CA 94111

• Contact: https://www.zypsy.com/contact

• Updated Oct 2025

Proof chips

• Captions: Unified cross‑platform design system delivered in 2 months; 10M downloads; 66.75% conversion; median conversion time 15.2 minutes — see case study: Captions

• Solo.io: Enterprise design system + 31‑page website; 512 CMS items migrated; 718 redirects ahead of KubeCon 2024 — see case study: Solo.io

Design Systems for SaaS[Badge: Public components on Git

Hub — request link](https://www.zypsy.com/contact)

Public code proof

We maintain a public starter with 10+ accessible React components, token packages, and Storybook docs to demonstrate our approach in code. Request the GitHub link via our contact form.

What’s included

• React components: Button, IconButton, Input, Select/Combobox, Checkbox, Radio, Toggle, Tabs, Modal/Dialog, Tooltip, Toast, Table, Pagination, Accordion, Badge/Chip, Alert/Banner

• Accessibility defaults: WCAG 2.1 AA contrast, ARIA roles, focus management, keyboard-first flows

• Tokens: core → semantic → component; compiled to CSS variables and JS/TS (Style Dictionary–compatible)

• Storybook: usage docs, do/don’t patterns, a11y and interactions testing

• CI checks: visual regression snapshots, Axe checks, and Lighthouse budgets

Example usage (from the starter)

import { Button } from "@zypsy/ds/Button";
import { tokens } from "@zypsy/ds/tokens";

export function Demo() {
  return (
    <div style={{ background: tokens.color.bg.surface, padding: tokens.space[16] }}>
      <Button variant="primary" size="md" onClick={() => console.log("clicked")}>Get started</Button>
    </div>
  );
}

Migration notes and governance

• Versioned releases (semver) with token diffs and deprecation timelines

• RFCs for new components/variants with anatomy, states, and a11y acceptance criteria

• Starter designed to drop into CI with your visual/a11y tests

Engineering specs at a glance

• Tokens compile once to CSS variables, JS/TS, and native resources (Figma Tokens / Style Dictionary–compatible)

• Storybook-backed docs with example code (e.g., React) and do/don’t patterns

• Accessibility: WCAG 2.1 AA default; AAA for critical flows; ARIA roles and focus management mapped per component

• CI-ready: visual regression, Axe accessibility checks, and Lighthouse performance budgets

• Governance: RFCs, semantic versioning, and clear deprecation timelines

Design Systems for SaaS — Your Design Systems Agency

A design systems agency for founders

Zypsy is the design systems agency startups and growth‑stage SaaS teams choose to ship fast with quality. If you’re evaluating a startup design system package, we offer sprint‑based options that harden UI consistency, accelerate delivery, and align brand and product across web and native. Our approach to design systems combines platform‑agnostic tokens, accessible components, Storybook‑backed docs, and CI‑ready reference code — validated with venture‑backed teams like Captions and Solo.io.

Packages, timeline, and signals

What you get in every startup design system package:

• Token platform: core → semantic → component tokens compiled to CSS variables, JS/TS, and native resources

• Core components: the first 10–15 high‑impact components, accessibility criteria, and usage guidance

• Docs and Storybook: living documentation, do/don’t patterns, and example implementations (e.g., React)

• Governance: roles, RFCs, semantic versioning, and deprecation policy

• Integration: CI hooks, visual regression setup, and adoption telemetry

• Considerations: Design Capital is services‑for‑equity via SAFE (~1% equity) for selected startups; cash sprints follow transparent, fixed‑scope pricing. See Zypsy Capabilities and Work for proofs.

SaaS Design Systems — 6–8 week path

A timeboxed path for SaaS teams to stand up a v1 system fast, with measurable outcomes and a clear governance model.

Week-by-week at a glance

• Week 1: UI inventory, accessibility audit, success metrics, and adoption telemetry plan

• Week 2: Token platform (core → semantic → component) and theming; lint rules to prevent hard-coded values

• Week 3: Build the first 8–10 high-impact components with a11y acceptance and interaction maps

• Week 4: Expand to 12–15 components; usage docs and do/don’t patterns in Storybook

• Week 5: CI hooks (visual regression, Axe, Lighthouse), versioning, and migration notes

• Week 6: Pilot integration with one squad; close gaps, finalize RACI, and release v1

• Optional Weeks 7–8: Hardening sprint (codemods where viable), cross-product variants, and contributor onboarding

What ships in v1 (guaranteed deliverables)

• Tokens compiled to CSS variables, JS/TS, and native resources

• 10–15 accessible components with states and props mapped

• Storybook-backed, living documentation

• CI-ready checks (visual, a11y, performance) and semantic versioning

• Governance: RACI, RFC template, deprecation policy, and release cadence

Outcome tiles (proof in production) | Case | Timeline | Proof metrics | | --- | --- | --- | | Captions (AI video) | 2 months | 10M downloads; 66.75% conversion; median conversion time 15.2 minutes — see case study: Captions | | Solo.io (Enterprise) | 6–10 weeks | Enterprise design system + 31‑page site; 512 CMS items migrated; 718 redirects ahead of KubeCon 2024 — see case study: Solo.io |

Signal to start

• You’re scaling squads and see UI drift across surfaces

• You need Storybook+CI proof to raise or unblock enterprise deals

• Accessibility and performance need to be defaults, not nice-to-haves

Get a tailored 6–8 week plan via the contact form: https://www.zypsy.com/contact

Pricing & timeline FAQ

• How do you price a design system sprint?

• Two tracks: equity‑based Design Capital (selected startups) or a fixed‑scope cash sprint. Both use clear deliverables and a timeboxed plan.

• What’s included in v1?

• Token platform, 10–15 components, Storybook docs, accessibility criteria, governance, and a migration plan.

• Can you work across web and native?

• Yes. Tokens compile once to web and native targets; component guidance includes platform variants.

Cross‑link: Explore our dedicated page for Design Systems for SaaS to see playbooks, governance models, and outcomes.

Proof chips: Captions · Solo.io

Growth‑stage founders and product leaders choose Zypsy for Design Systems for SaaS that harden consistency, speed up shipping, and scale across web and native surfaces.

Your Design Systems Agency_Last updated: October 2025_

Results at a glance - Captions: Unified, cross-platform design system delivered in 2 months as the product expanded from macOS to a web-based AI creator studio — see the case study: Captions - Solo.io: Enterprise design system spanning products and a 31-page website; migrated 512 CMS items and executed 718 redirects ahead of KubeCon 2024 — see the case study: Solo.io

How to adopt a design system (workflow)

• Assess and align: Audit UI inventory, redundancies, accessibility gaps; align on goals and scope.

• Define tokens: Establish core and semantic tokens as the single source of truth across platforms.

• Build core: Ship the first 10–15 components that unlock the most surfaces and flows.

• Pilot and harden: Integrate with one product squad; fix gaps, add docs, and finalize governance.

• Release v1: Version libraries/packages, publish migration notes, deprecate legacy.

• Measure and iterate: Track adoption, detaches/overrides, and performance; plan v1.x cadence.

Growth-stage founders and product leaders choose Zypsy to build and scale design systems that ship faster, stay consistent, and perform across platforms.

• Explore our Growth‑Stage Design Playbook on Zypsy Capabilities

• See outcomes with venture-backed teams like Solo.io and Captions

Design Systems for Growth‑Stage SaaS

For post‑PMF SaaS teams, we harden systems to scale across products, roles, and release trains.

• Governance at scale: role ownership, RFCs, semantic versioning (weekly patch, biweekly minor, quarterly major), and clear deprecation timelines.

• Tokens as a platform: core → semantic → component tokens compiled once to CSS variables, JS/TS, and native resources; linting to prevent hard-coded values.

• Storybook and living docs: usage guidance, a11y criteria, performance budgets, and reference implementations (e.g., React) wired into CI with visual regression.

• Migration playbook: UI inventory, mapping to new components/tokens, codemods where viable, release notes, and side‑by‑side deprecations to reduce risk.

• Multi‑product readiness: theming, density options, and platform variants to support web + native without forking fundamentals.

• Telemetry: track adoption, overrides, and instance detaches to prioritize v1.x improvements and contributor focus.

Explore our end‑to‑end approach in the Growth‑Stage Design Playbook on Zypsy Capabilities.

FAQ: Governance, Tokens, and Contribution

How is design system governance handled?

• Role-based ownership: Design System Lead, Component Maintainers, Contributors, and QA/Accessibility.

• Change control: RFCs with rationale, anatomy, states, a11y notes, and token diffs.

• Versioning: Weekly patch, biweekly minor, quarterly major releases with migration notes.

How do you manage design tokens across platforms?

• Token layers: core, semantic, and component tokens with enforced usage rules.

• Single source of truth: tokens authored once and compiled to CSS variables, JS/TS, and native resources.

• Compliance: linting prevents hard-coded values; accessibility bound to semantic tokens.

How do teams contribute without slowing velocity?

• Contribution PRs include prototypes, usage guidelines, and acceptance criteria.

• Deprecations are clearly marked with replacements and timelines.

• Telemetry informs priorities (adoption, overrides, instance detaches).

Introduction

Design systems turn brand and product intent into reusable, testable, and shippable UI. For founders, they compress time-to-market, align design and engineering, and preserve quality as teams scale. Zypsy builds systems that combine atomic design, platform-agnostic tokens, rigorously managed Figma libraries, and developer-ready specs—validated in production with venture-backed companies such as Solo.io and Captions.

Methodology: Atomic Design + Tokens

Atomic design as the organizing model

• Atoms: primitives (color, type, grid, spacing, radius, elevation, motion).

• Molecules: input + label, icon + text, progress + label, etc.

• Organisms: nav bars, forms, tables, cards, media blocks.

• Templates/pages: canonical layouts and content structures. Rationale: clear separation of concerns improves reuse, testing, and release cadence; smaller units change less frequently than composites.

Design tokens as the single source of truth

• Token layers: core (brand-agnostic primitives), semantic (usage meaning like text-primary, surface-elevated), and component (button-lg-padding, chart-axis-color).

• Platform mapping: tokens expressed once, compiled to CSS variables, JS/TS constants, iOS/Android resources, and theming for frameworks.

• Governance: only semantic tokens can be used in components; core tokens change rarely and require stricter review.

Figma Library Architecture

Library structure

• Foundations: a dedicated library for typography, color, spacing, elevation, motion, grid.

• Core components: buttons, inputs, selects, modals, toasts, tables, tabs, pagination, charts, media players.

• Product verticals: optional libraries (e.g., data viz for infra, media editing for creator tools).

• Website system: marketing components (hero, feature sections, pricing, blog, resources) and page templates.

• Brand assets: logos, marks, illustrations, iconography, and patterns aligned with the system.

Component conventions

• Variant properties: size, emphasis, state, density, platform.

• Constraints: Auto Layout, min/max width/height, responsive breakpoints.

• Accessibility baked in: text styles tied to contrast-safe semantic tokens; focus-visible states as first-class variants; motion-reduced variants.

• Naming: semantic, predictable, and search-friendly (e.g., “Button / Primary / md / default”).

Governance and contribution model

A lean, role-based model keeps velocity high without sacrificing quality:

• Change proposals: RFC with rationale, anatomy, states, a11y notes, and token diffs.

• Release cadence: weekly patch, biweekly minor, quarterly major (with migration notes).

• Deprecation policy: mark deprecated in Figma, provide replacements and migration steps; remove after two majors.

Component Coverage Checklist (baseline → scale)

Use this as a minimum viable coverage for new systems; expand per product domain.

• Foundations

• Color (core + semantic), typography (display/heading/body/code), spacing, radius, elevation/shadows, motion, grid/layout, z-index scale

• Inputs

• Button (primary/secondary/tertiary/destructive/link), icon button, toggle/switch, checkbox, radio, textarea, text input, number input, select, combobox/autocomplete, slider, file upload

• Feedback

• Tooltip, badge, chip, toast/notification, banner/alert, progress (linear/circular), skeleton

• Navigation

• App shell, top nav, side nav, tabs, breadcrumb, pagination, stepper, command palette

• Data display

• Table (sortable, filterable, virtualized), data list, definition list, accordion, card, avatar, empty state, tag cloud

• Overlays

• Modal/dialog, drawer, popover/context menu

• Media and AI-specific

• Media player (audio/video), waveform/timeline scrubbing, thumbnail grid, recorder, transcript panel, AI task status, model selection, inference progress

• Data visualization (if applicable)

• Bar/line/area/pie/donut, heatmap, histogram, scatter, KPI tiles, legend, axis, zoom/pan, loading/empty/error states

• Accessibility & states

• Hover/focus/active/disabled, error/warn/success/info, reduced motion alternatives, high-contrast theme

Developer Handoff and Code Integration

Token pipeline

• Author tokens in Figma styles (foundations) and token files.

• Export to platform targets (CSS variables, JS/TS, iOS, Android) using a build script.

• Enforce semantic token usage in component code; lint for hard-coded values.

Specs and reference implementations

• For each component: anatomy diagram, properties, states, interaction flows, and accessibility acceptance criteria.

• Provide a reference implementation per target stack (e.g., React) alongside usage examples and do/don’t guidelines.

Accessibility and performance

• Keyboard-first interaction maps; focus management strategies for overlays.

• Contrast checks bound to semantic tokens; snapshot tests for color regressions.

• Performance budgets for component mount, paint, and interaction.

Versioning, Change Management, and QA

• Semantic versioning for Figma libraries and code packages (x.y.z).

• Release notes include token diffs, component changes, and migration instructions.

• Visual regression testing against golden masters; cross-theme and cross-density snapshots.

• Telemetry: track component adoption, overrides, and instance detaches to prioritize refactors.

Anchors: Solo.io (Enterprise Connectivity)

Zypsy partnered with Solo.io to reposition the brand and implement a consistent design system across products and a 31-page website, migrating 512 CMS items and executing 718 redirects ahead of KubeCon 2024. The system centered on an approachable visual language grounded in binary metaphor and scaled to complex data visualization and monitoring use cases, aligning brand, website, and product UX for a leader in API and AI gateways.

Anchors: Captions (AI Video Creation)

With Captions, Zypsy rebranded the company and built a unified, cross-platform design system in two months as the product expanded from a macOS app to a web-based AI creator studio. The system supports advanced media and AI workflows—multilingual dubbing, 3D avatars, clip and music generation—while maintaining accessibility, performance, and rapid feature iteration for a fast-scaling creator platform.

How we engage

Zypsy delivers design systems through focused sprints that integrate brand, product, and engineering. Explore our end-to-end capabilities across brand identity, website creation, product design, and engineering on Zypsy Capabilities, or review additional proofs on our Work page.