Black holes are a mysterious cosmic object, they are much studied but not fully understood. Contrary to their misleading name, black holes are neither black nor conventional holes, but because of their name, most people, when thinking of it, picture something unknown that could pull us and entrap us, a force so big that even light could not escape from it.
Design systems also have a tricky name, by having the word design on it, many people think a tool only for designers, but they are in essence about interconnections, relationships that hold the elements together in an organization.
Science has long acknowledged the existence of black holes at the heart of galaxies, and similarly, some organizations recognize their design systems as gravitational cores — forces that organize elements around a central point, creating a structured system. Both design systems and black holes underscore the significance of organization, hierarchy, and the influence of core elements on their respective surroundings.
While comparing design systems to an atomic model isn’t new, my passion for astrophysics and experience as a design system designer has led me to reflect on the similarities between black holes and design systems more specifically.
Well, but if a black hole isn’t black, and isn’t a hole, what is it? Giving a straight answer to that might just mean I’m in the wrong field! But let’s picture two different regions: the Event Horizon, the outer layer that surrounds the black hole, where we think we have the understanding of what’s happening there, and in the center there’s the singularity, an infinitely dense point that science and physics are yet to discover what lies within.
And when trying to explain what black holes are, the two most basic theories of nature that we have: the quantum theory, and the general relativity theory simply clash.
Much like a black hole, the design system also has its own event horizon, a place where we think we have full control of components and everything that is happening in the product — but then, there’s the singularity.
And then just like the clash between quantum theory and general relativity designers, developers, and project managers — the fundamental entities of product design — sometimes find it challenging to reach a consensus.
In the 1970s, Stephen Hawking proposed the concept of Hawking radiation, suggesting that black holes emit particles and energy.
This theory, in essence, says that if you look closely at the vicinity of the event horizon and the singularity, you will find entangled particles coming in and out of existence, merging back together, but it could happen that one of a pair, instead of merging to its partner, escape from the black hole, therefore removing energy from it and creating the radiation.
These entangled particles mirror design elements sometimes merging and evolving within an organization. Some elements contribute to the system, much like particles merging, while others occasionally diverge in the organizational space.
In experiments, physicists have maintained entanglement between particles more than 1,000 kilometers apart, in principle, they could sustain their connection on opposite sides of the galaxy, the challenge in organizations is how can we keep different functions entangled and working together even if sometimes they seem far in distance?
In conclusion, the metaphor between black holes and design systems highlights not only the need to comprehend organizational complexity but also the importance of accepting divergences as an integral part of the process. The occasional disagreements among designers, developers, and project managers in the field of design systems prompt us to continually refine our perspectives, challenging ourselves to stay entangled even tho someone’s function, or opinion may seem distant.
The interconnected nature of these cosmic and design phenomena serves as a compelling reminder that within the vast expanse of organizational complexities, it is through acknowledging and navigating divergences that true innovation and progress emerge.
Tensions and adaptations are not impediments, but catalysts for innovation within the organizational space.