Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Oliver Lindberg @oliverlindberg.com · 1d

Design tokens promised to simplify design systems, but for many teams, they've become the biggest source of complexity instead.

Check out "When design tokens become technical debt" by @murphytrueman.bsky.social, now on the @zeroheight.com blog: zeroheight.com/blog/when-de...

An illustration of a literal warning sign

1

Oliver Lindberg @oliverlindberg.com · 6d

Another article I commissioned for @zeroheight.com has gone live!

Amy Hupe @amyhupe.bsky.social · 6d

ALSO I wrote a thing for Zeroheight: When’s the right time to start documenting your design system?

In here I talk about what type of documentation to aim for at each stage of your design system’s lifecycle.

zeroheight.com/blog/whens-t...

When's the right time to start documenting your design system? - zeroheight

zeroheight.com

1 3

Oliver Lindberg @oliverlindberg.com · 6d

Front-end devs, non-human traffic is on the rise. Find out what AI means for the sites you build!

Pixel Pioneers @pixelpioneers.co · 6d

Are we witnessing the death of the browser?

🎥 In their excellent closing talk at Pixel Pioneers Bristol this summer, @nearestnabors.com explored how AI agents can transform our relationship with the internet. Watch the keynote here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IT5...

#ThrowbackThursday #tbthursday

Rachel-Lee Nabors speaking about the death of the browser at Pixel Pioneers Bristol 2025.

Oliver Lindberg @oliverlindberg.com · 6d

Yay, Systems of Harm is back! And what a fantastic guest to start with! 🤩

Amy Hupe @amyhupe.bsky.social · 7d

We’re back baby!

Ep 1, S2 of Systems of Harm just dropped and we’re kicking off this series with design systems and accessibility specialist @gerireid.com

Tune in wherever you get your podcasts to hear us natter about design systems and activism

Apple: apple.co/42Zhx1s
RSS: bit.ly/43gtLkB

Design systems and activism with Geri Reid

Podcast Episode · Systems of Harm · 01/10/2025 · 53m

apple.co

2

Oliver Lindberg @oliverlindberg.com · 8d

An extremely well-organised event with an amazing atmosphere! And just look at the lineup for this edition: @bradfrost.com, @thisisjofrank.bsky.social, @nerdy.dev, @ohhelloana.blog, @sachajudd.com, etc. 🤩

Tickets are super affordable as well, so get yourself over to Berlin! 🇩🇪

beyond tellerrand @beyondtellerrand.com · 8d

Step into Berlin for #btconf 2025. A celebration of creativity, innovation, and learning. Talks, workshops, and networking opportunities await. Only 37 days left. beyondtellerrand.com/events/berli...

beyond tellerrand // BERLIN 2025, taking place 06 - 07 Nov 2025

beyond tellerrand 2025 in Berlin. Join us on 06 - 07 Nov 2025 for talks about web, design, technology, typography and much more. In the renowned friendly atmosphere.

beyondtellerrand.com

2 5 7

Oliver Lindberg @oliverlindberg.com · 15d

I'm so excited about the content I have lined up for the @zeroheight.com blog. The community's willingness to share both knowledge and thoughts is incredible. It's going to be a real Who's Who of design systems!

Here's just one example:

zeroheight.com/blog/from-gr... (by @morganepeng.bsky.social)

From Grief to Exec: How AI Is Disrupting Design Systems

AI is reshaping design systems, shifting practitioners from hands-on craft to strategic oversight. From automating component management to enabling hybrid designer–developer roles, this new era demand...

zeroheight.com

2

Oliver Lindberg @oliverlindberg.com · 16d

So inspiring *and* practical. And Chris even created this animation for the conference!

Oliver Lindberg @oliverlindberg.com · 20d

How do you build the right foundations from nothing? Start by building trust. 👇👇👇

Pixel Pioneers @pixelpioneers.co · 28d

Great design isn’t just about pixels. It's about collaboration, speed, and setting up the right foundations so designers and developers can build better products, faster.

🎥 Watch Rachel Ilan Simpson's talk on building and transforming design at startups & scaleups: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cbl6...

Rachel Ilan Simpson speaking at Pixel Pioneers Bristol 2025, alongside the title of her talk: From 0 to Scale - Building and Transforming Design at Startups and Scaleups.

Reposted by Oliver Lindberg

zeroheight @zeroheight.com · 22d

🏆🏆 THE SHORTLIST IS NOW LIVE! 🏆🏆

We've finally announced the finalists and opened up public voting for the Design System Awards. Check it out here: zeroheight.com/blog/design-...

Design System Awards 2025 - It's time to vote!

The shortlist is now live for the design system awards 2025, and it's your chance to vote!

zeroheight.com

3 4

Reposted by Oliver Lindberg

Pixel Pioneers @pixelpioneers.co · 27d

What does refactoring CSS have in common with redecorating a new home? 🎥 Watch @ohhelloana.blog's fantastic talk on maintaining and modernising legacy CSS to find out: www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9JU...

Ana Rodrigues speaking at Pixel Pioneers Bristol 2025, on maintaining and modernising legacy CSS

1 2 1

Oliver Lindberg @oliverlindberg.com · 22d

Hey @asedwick.bsky.social, just making sure you received the message I sent through your form? Let me know if you're still interested and have availability.

1 1

Oliver Lindberg @oliverlindberg.com · 27d

Such a great talk, equally fun and insightful. 👇👇👇

Pixel Pioneers @pixelpioneers.co · Sep 4

"It's just nice when a site feels nice." 🎥 Watch @jackf.io's excellent talk on debugging web performance with Chrome DevTools: www.youtube.com/watch?v=rC5I...

#ThrowbackThursday #tbthursday #webperf #perfmatters #devtools @developer.chrome.com

Jack Franklin speaking at Pixel Pioneers Bristol 2025 on debugging web performance

Oliver Lindberg @oliverlindberg.com · Sep 8

"The pre-mortem was exactly what the [design system] team needed to move forward. It allowed them to voice their concerns in a psychologically safe and supportive environment."

I invited @guysegal.com to share a simple yet powerful tool to plan for success: zeroheight.com/blog/the-pre...

The Pre-Mortem: Transforming a Skeptical Design System Team

You can’t ship a healthy system with an unhealthy team. Before we push components, we should put our oxygen masks on and run a pre-mortem – imagining total failure, naming every cause, and turning it ...

zeroheight.com

2 4

Oliver Lindberg @oliverlindberg.com · Sep 4

"A grid-aware website responds to the cleanliness or dirtiness of a user’s electricity grid, i.e. whether it's currently using more renewable energy or fossil fuels."

For more on this, also check out issue 9 of Branch magazine (by the Green Web Foundation): branch.climateaction.tech/issues/issue...

Piccalilli @piccalil.li · Aug 28

This is not CSS grid-aware, but energy grid-aware websites. Websites that respond to the “cleanliness” of the user’s local electricity grid. A very interesting read and concept.

www.nicchan.me/blog/explori...

Exploring grid-aware websites - Nic Chan

Could adapting websites to a user's energy grid help make them more sustainable?

www.nicchan.me

3 4

Reposted by Oliver Lindberg

Amy Hupe @amyhupe.bsky.social · Sep 3

A wee reminder that I am looking for my next client. I’m a design systems and content design consultant, specialising in design systems management, documentation, general content design, and consultancy.

I’ve worked with the BBC, GOV.UK, Springer Nature, NHS, The Wellcome Trust, BT and more

1/2

1 32 32

Oliver Lindberg @oliverlindberg.com · Sep 4

What an amazing way to kick off this year's conference! 😊

Pixel Pioneers @pixelpioneers.co · Aug 7

🎥 Here's the first video from Pixel Pioneers Bristol 2025!

@tink.uk's opening keynote covers the risks and limitations of generative AI but also its extraordinary potential to make the world more accessible. It's a must-watch: www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVZP...

#ThrowbackThursday #tbthursday #a11y

There Is No Spoon – Léonie Watson | Pixel Pioneers 2025

YouTube video by Pixel Pioneers

www.youtube.com

1

Oliver Lindberg @oliverlindberg.com · Sep 3

Just dropped you an email, @vale.rocks! 😊

1 1

Oliver Lindberg @oliverlindberg.com · Sep 2

"As web developers, to have an impact on reducing the energy being used by the network we need to lower that baseline traffic volume. That's not something an individual developer can achieve on their own. It takes all of us."

This is a really insightful read.

Fershad Irani @fershad.com · Sep 2

If you're a frontend developer like me and find yourself regularly wondering about the intersection of data transfer, network energy consumption, and web sustainability, then boy do I have a blog post with a really long title just for you!

itsfi.sh/l/webdev-sus...

Thinking about network sustainability for frontend developers - Fershad Irani

Sure data transfer does not equal network energy use. Yes, but there is still a way for frontend developers to influence network energy consumption by reducing data transfer.

itsfi.sh

1 1

Oliver Lindberg @oliverlindberg.com · Sep 2

Check your inbox. 😊

1 1

Oliver Lindberg @oliverlindberg.com · Sep 2

I invited @morganepeng.bsky.social to write a guest post for the @zeroheight.com blog, and she's written about how AI is disrupting design systems! 🤖

It's a great read, check it out here: zeroheight.com/blog/from-gr...

From Grief to Exec: How AI Is Disrupting Design Systems

AI is reshaping design systems, shifting practitioners from hands-on craft to strategic oversight. From automating component management to enabling hybrid designer–developer roles, this new era demand...

zeroheight.com

1 1

Oliver Lindberg @oliverlindberg.com · Sep 2

Glad to hear someone is able to help with at least two of the issues! Which one are you still looking for?

Oliver Lindberg @oliverlindberg.com · Sep 1

Sorry, late reply, I was on holiday! Have you been able to find the issues you were looking for, @sarasoueidan.com?

1

Oliver Lindberg @oliverlindberg.com · Sep 1

It was such a pleasure to work with Guy on this article!

Really looking forward to hearing more about this (and to meeting you in person, Guy!) at Converge in Bristol!

Guy Segal @guysegal.com · Aug 27

I wrote an article for @zeroheight.com! It's about the pre-mortem, a simple yet powerful tool to proactively plan for success by surfacing what failed in the past.

It’s part of my upcoming Converge talk, where I will share how understanding humans helps address core problems, rather than symptoms.

zeroheight.com

3

Oliver Lindberg @oliverlindberg.com · Aug 7

I know, right? 🙌

2

Oliver Lindberg @oliverlindberg.com · Aug 6

The first article I commissioned and edited on behalf of @zeroheight.com is now live!

And what a start: In this post, the one and only @gerireid.com explains (in simple terms!) how the European Accessibility Act impacts your design system:

Geri Reid @gerireid.com · Aug 5

Enjoyed nerding out over this piece for the @zeroheight.com blog on the EAA and what it means for your design system:
zeroheight.com/blog/europea...
#accessibility #a11y

What's the European Accessibility Act got to do with my design system?

Not sure how the European Accessibility Act (EAA) impacts your design system? This guide explains who’s affected, what compliance involves, and how to make your system more accessible, even if you’re ...

zeroheight.com

1 1 7