General-Purpose AI Model (GPAI)
CONCEPT
AI GOVERNANCE
General-purpose AI models, such as large language models, carry specific EU AI Act duties for providers, with stricter rules for models with systemic risk.
CONCEPT
EXPERIENCE DESIGN
Design System
A governed collection of design principles, tokens, components, patterns and documentation used to create consistent products.
BUSINESS RELEVANCE
A design system lets multiple teams ship consistent, accessible products faster by reusing agreed decisions instead of redesigning common elements, and it makes brand and UX changes easier to roll out.
IMPLEMENTATION EXAMPLE
A company with three web apps creates a design system with tokens for color and spacing, 40 components, content guidelines and contribution rules, then tracks adoption by counting screens built from system components.
LIMITATIONS
A design system is a product that needs funding, owners and governance; without them it becomes outdated. It cannot fix weak research or strategy, and overly strict rules can block teams with legitimate needs.
TECHNICAL EXPLANATION
A design system typically contains foundations such as principles, design tokens and accessibility standards; a component library in design tools and code; patterns that combine components for common tasks; and documentation and contribution processes. Changes are versioned and released so products can adopt updates in a controlled way.
Secondary Topics
Systems Architecture
Sources
Nielsen Norman Group — Design Systems 101 — https://www.nngroup.com/articles/design-systems-101/; Figma — Design system 101: What is a design system? — https://www.figma.com/blog/design-systems-101-what-is-a-design-system/
Related terms
Data Silo
CONCEPT
DATA ENGINEERING
Why data gets trapped in separate tools and departments, how it leads to conflicting reports and manual work, and the usual ways to connect it.
Anchor Text
CONCEPT
SEARCH OPTIMIZATION
Anchor text is the clickable wording of a link; descriptive anchors help users, assistive technology and search engines understand the destination page.
Content Delivery Network (CDN)
CONCEPT
SYSTEMS ARCHITECTURE
A network of edge servers that serves cached files near visitors, cutting latency and origin load while adding TLS handling and DDoS protection.
Chatbot
CONCEPT
INTELLIGENT AUTOMATION
Chatbots handle conversations on websites, apps and messaging channels, ranging from scripted decision trees to AI assistants built on language models.