In one of my past teams, we had a beautiful design system-clean Figma files, neat documentation, and reusable components. Everyone praised it in meetings, but when it came to ownership, things got blurry. Engineers expected designers to maintain it. Designers expected developers to update tokens. Product managers assumed it would evolve naturally. Slowly, it started falling apart.

This is a familiar story. A design system without a clear owner quickly becomes a shared responsibility that no one actually owns. Components drift, patterns multiply, and before long, the system stops serving its purpose. The same tool that was meant to create unity begins to introduce inconsistency.

Having a clear owner-or a small, accountable team-changes everything. Ownership doesn’t mean controlling how others use the system. It means stewarding its health, ensuring quality, and keeping it relevant. The owner sets standards, manages versioning, and works closely with contributors to evolve it as the product grows.

It’s also about communication. When everyone knows who to turn to for updates, questions, or contributions, the system becomes easier to trust. Ownership brings rhythm-regular audits, intentional releases, and alignment across design and engineering. That rhythm keeps the product experience consistent and predictable.

A design system isn’t a static library; it’s a living product. And like any product, it needs a team that wakes up thinking about its future. When someone owns it with clarity and care, it doesn’t just maintain consistency-it scales confidence across every team that touches design.