
Do our design systems give new joiners anxiety?
From Design Systems WTF by zeroheight
February 3, 2026 · 33 min · Season 2 · Episode 48
About this episode
The episode discusses the anxiety new joiners face when confronted with complex design systems.
Live recording of the fortnightly podcast Design Systems WTF (back for season two!), where Luke Murphy and Michelle Chin attempt to combat all the amazing wtf in design systems. In each episode, they answer a single question around design system troubles with a Q&A from the live audience. Set the scene - you've joined a new company as a product designer or engineer, and you're confronted with a massive system, with custom naming and opaque decisions. Queue anxiety. So how do we make our d...
People in this episode
Hosts: Luke Murphy, Michelle Chin
Topics covered
- design systems
- new joiners
- anxiety
- product design
- engineering
Keywords
- design systems
- anxiety
- new joiners
- product designer
- engineering
More episodes of Design Systems WTF
- Is Figma holding design systems back? · May 26, 2026 · 46 min
- How do you make developers to care about your design system? · May 12, 2026 · 37 min
- Is a design system mandate worth fighting for? · April 28, 2026 · 41 min
- Does your design system need a PM? · March 31, 2026 · 41 min
- What do you actually test? · March 17, 2026 · 35 min
- Do MCPs care more about patterns or components? · March 3, 2026 · 47 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Design Systems WTF podcast page.