"I think with anything right now, it's moving quickly, so whatever tool that we adopt, I want to do so with a bit of an open hand that this might get replaced soon, very quickly."
In this episode, we sit down with Tim Gremore, Development Lead at Headway, to dig into DESIGN.md, Google's open spec for giving an agent context about your design system in a single file. Tim shares how Headway adopted DESIGN.md to drive agentic work with their design system, what actually belongs in the file, what can safely be left out, and why they point their design system MCPs at the file instead of generating it from a library.
The conversation also covers Atlassian's published test results on DESIGN.md and what to make of them, along with a new kind of design system user showing up across organizations, team members building slide decks, landing pages, internal tools, and dashboards without a designer or developer on their team, and how to keep governance and contribution healthy once they do.
Tune in to learn:
How to decide what belongs in a DESIGN.md file and what to leave out as your design system matures
The difference between using DESIGN.md as your source of truth versus generating it from a component library
How to build a healthy contribution and governance model as new types of users adopt your design system
Jump into the conversation:
(00:00) Intro
(01:11) Tim's background and DESIGN.md overview
(02:40) What DESIGN.md is trying to solve
(05:08) The shortest useful version of a DESIGN.md file
(08:26) New design system customers and generative UI
(10:39) DESIGN.md vs. MCP: source of truth approaches
(14:40) Where design philosophy instructions belong
(20:58) Atlassian's test results on DESIGN.md
(23:12) When DESIGN.md becomes the whole design system
(25:35) Evolving from DESIGN.md to MCP
(29:12) DESIGN.md for slide decks and newsletters
(29:58) Managing governance and contribution
(36:40) Where to start with DESIGN.md
Connect with Tim Gremore: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timgremore/
About Intent & Craft
Intent & Craft is a product design podcast from the team at Headway. We dig into design systems, AI in the design process, and what it really takes to scale design for software. Made for design leaders, product leaders, and the teams building alongside them.
Headway is a full-cycle product studio. We work in four areas: design systems, digital transformation, new products, and artificial intelligence. We partner with growth-stage B2B SaaS companies, mid-market teams, and enterprise innovation groups.
Hosts
Billy Sweetman, Head of Design at Headway
Breanna Shappy, Design Lead at Headway
Connect with the Team
Billy Sweetman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sweetman/
Breanna Shappy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/breanna-shappy/
Melissa Gallagher: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissacgallagher/
Sam Pecard: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuelpecard/
Related Links
Headway Website: https://www.headway.io
Intent & Craft Website: http://intentandcraft.com/
Headway on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/headwayio/
Newsletter: https://www.headway.io/the-manifest
Got a topic idea or want to be a guest?
Reach out to us on LinkedIn or email Billy Sweetman at billy@headway.io
