I tried taking my Design System beyond Figma

For a long time, my Design System existed mainly inside Figma: foundations, tokens, components, patterns and documentation.

It worked, but I started to notice a limitation: the system was well represented visually, yet still distant from where the product was actually built.

That is when I started an experiment with Aurora: bringing the Design System, code and AI closer together.

The idea seemed simple

If colors, typography, spacing, components and rules were already defined, why could that information not also become context for an AI to build interfaces?

The intent was never to abandon Figma. It was to stop depending on it exclusively.

I began structuring foundations, components and patterns in code as well, inside a Git repository.

That is when the mistakes started.

I learned that asking AI to do it was not enough

At first, I used instructions like:

Create this screen using Aurora.

The AI could execute, but it also made decisions I had not asked for. It changed components, reinterpreted patterns and sometimes tried to solve problems outside the scope.

I realized the issue was not only the tool. I was still not defining the rules of execution clearly enough.

I started working with more specific instructions:

Do not redesign. Do not change existing components. Use the available tokens. Change only what is necessary. Validate before finishing.

The results became much more predictable.

When I started breaking things, I started learning

Moving beyond Figma also meant dealing directly with Git, builds, dependencies, previews and deployments.

Some things broke.

At first, I made another mistake: I asked AI to simply “fix it.”

Sometimes it fixed one problem by creating another.

So I began asking for diagnosis first: run it, find the actual error, identify the cause and change only what is necessary.

That shift mattered because I began using AI less as a generation button and more as an execution tool within boundaries I needed to define.

What changed for me

I started out wanting to put my Design System into code.

Today, I see it a little differently.

I want the Design System to be a source of context for building.

If a designer, developer or AI needs to create a new experience, the rules, components, patterns and constraints should already be clear.

Figma remains part of the process. But it does not need to be the only place where the system exists.

My main learning so far is that taking a Design System beyond Figma is not simply about turning components into code. It is about making design decisions clear enough for people, code and AI to build from the same system.