Mary Ann Lewis 4/27/26 Mary Ann Lewis 4/27/26

From Tokens to Components: How a Design System Starts Becoming Real

A lot of design system work starts with visible pieces: buttons, inputs, cards, modals, and navigation. These are the parts teams see every day, and where inconsistency often shows up first.

But strong systems start one layer deeper. Before creating reusable components, a team needs a foundation for how the product should look, behave, and scale.

Mary Ann Lewis 4/27/26 Mary Ann Lewis 4/27/26

AI Design Tools Aren’t Replacing UX. They’re Exposing What UX Actually Is

AI can already generate wireframes, polished screens, clickable prototypes, and outputs that feel close to a real product. That part is real. But what happens after vibe coding? The real work begins.

Mary Ann Lewis 8/8/25 Mary Ann Lewis 8/8/25

Mapping UX Core Competencies: A Practical Framework for Design Leaders

As design leaders, we can’t rely on gut instinct alone to understand our team’s capabilities. This post shares the UX Core Competency Matrix I built to map strengths, identify growth opportunities, and align skills with both business goals and user needs. Inside, you’ll find the eight core competencies every UX team should master, how to measure them with a clear 0–5 scale, and a free downloadable toolkit with definitions, a matrix chart, and a fillable rating grid you can start using today.