As is commonly the case, our design system is in continuous development. It is refined and iterated as we get more feedback and optimize it for both a range of design and development processes. We started with an interface inventory of the existing university sites to determine the functionality and components we should standardize across properties (shown below). We then assessed each component for broad usage prior to design. The design style was largely based on the university’s existing brand guidelines, with needed adjustments to allow a scalable and neutral framework that would be compatible with most of the university’s websites. In addition, we had the job of selling the design system to other parts of the university. We sought to encourage adoption to maintain brand and accessibility standards. Presentations to stakeholders have been an important part of the work. Adoption is an on-going challenge in a decentralized university model. With no mandate, and little resources, our small team successfully created solid front-end components to faciltate consistent and accessible websites across the university. Many campus units strive to use it, but don't have the resources to incorporate it to the back end. UMD's Division of Information Technology adopted it in 2025 making it much more widely available.