The problem
Design files show the current interface. The research, accessibility decisions and rejected alternatives are easy to lose when the file is replaced.
What goes in the repository
- Design principles
- Research
- Patterns
- Accessibility decisions
- Interaction rationale
- Content guidelines
- Rejected alternatives
design/ ├── index.md ├── principles/ ├── patterns/ ├── research/ └── decisions/
Why an open repository helps
A principle you can point to survives the next redesign. A decision trapped in a file comment often does not.
How Okide helps
Okide holds the principles, research and decisions in files that stay readable after the design tool changes.
Humans and agents, same files
Design assistants can reason from established principles instead of generating another disconnected interface.
OPEN BY DEFAULT
Keep the repository. Change the tools around it.
The interface can be redrawn. The decision should still have a source. Okide helps you work with the repository without turning it into an Okide-only format.