Donnie is a Design Systems Architect, educator, and content creator whose work sits at the intersection of systematic thinking and expressive design. He is the author of Mise en Mode, a forthcoming book on design token architecture and the use of modes to communicate intent at scale. Donnie hosts Wireframe, a live talk show exploring the practice of design and development. His work spans conference speaking, writing, and building tools that help teams create more coherent, trustworthy design systems.
Upcoming Talks
13 May 2026
We are finalising this session and will share all the details shortly.
Past Talks
24 May 2022
Design Systems provide designers with a new way to build cohesive, consistent experiences at scale - to create truly great products.
This panel will explore the ways different companies are approaching design systems to achieve greater alignment throughout the team.
- How will the role of the designer is evolving
- Allowing designers to think-creatively on user needs
- An evolution of what it means for design alignment
- The importance of design alignment in product success
23 May 2022
With years of experience with design systems, Donnie's role as an architect is to be able to interpret the designer's vision. However a challenge he has often encountered is the limitations of their designs which are often based on designing on a grid. So is the future of design gridless?
In this session, Donnie will talk through examples of gridless design best practices that aim to strengthen inclusivity in your product designs and design systems.. You will walk away learning:
- What the limitations are with designing on the grid but also why this is the current norms;
- How you can start implementing this methodology to your current design systems; and
- Why gridless design is the designing for the future of your products