Design Systems for AI: Introducing the Context Engine | by Diana Wolosin | Design Systems | Nov, 2025 | Design Systems Collective
December 8, 2025
For years, design systems have served one primary purpose: humans. They document patterns, components, decisions, and principles, all presented in formats meant for designers and engineers to read, interpret, and translate into products.
However, the moment AI entered your workflow, one truth became painfully clear. Your tokens, guidelines, accessibility rules, and UX patterns don’t matter if the LLM consuming them can’t read them as structured, meaningful context.This is why AI prototypes often fail: they feature off-brand UI, inconsistent layouts, vague flows, and content that doesn’t align with the intended personality. It’s not hallucination, it’s missing context.
As Diana Wolosin observes design systems were created by humans for humans, which made a lot of sense until LLMs came around.
Here she asks: “What happens to design systems when AI becomes a our new user?”
