Contribute to the Design Kit
Anyone in i.AI can add a component, pattern or improvement to the Design Kit. You do not need permission to start.
You do not have to wait for a decision. Keep using your version in your product while it's reviewed. When the kit version is published, swap yours for it.
Keeping this lightweight matters. Use this agent skill to help draft your contribution.
Contribute a component
1. Check the kit first
Search the kit site. If the component already exists, use it.
If something nearly works but does not quite fit, tell us in Slack. A near miss shows us where the kit falls short, so it counts as a contribution.
2. Post in Slack before you build
Post in #iai-design-kit with:
- what you need
- what you've tried
- anything that nearly works
- a screenshot or link
This is not an approval step. You can keep building while you wait for a reply. Posting early helps us spot duplication and point you to existing work.
3. Open a pull request
Open a pull request against the component library repository. The template asks for everything a kit page needs:
- what the component is, in one sentence
- when to use it
- when not to use it
- the HTML for each variant, ready to copy
- options and modifiers
- accessibility notes, including anything the component does not enforce
- a provenance tag and status
- links to any decision records and deviation records
Get your AI agent to draft this from your component's code and your Slack thread — it can pull out the variants, options and a first pass at "when to use" guidance for you to check and edit.
If you cannot complete a section, say so in the pull request. An incomplete pull request is better than no pull request.
4. Respond to review
Three people review your pull request:
- the technical maintainer checks the code can be maintained
- the accessibility reviewer checks accessibility
- a design reviewer checks design quality
They may ask for changes. You can make these yourself, or ask the core team to take over. If the core team takes over, it may take longer to publish.
What happens next
When all three reviewers approve, the core team merges and publishes your component, and announces it in Slack. The kit site updates automatically.
If your component is not accepted, we'll explain why in the pull request. We keep a record of components that were not added, because they still show us where the kit falls short.
Expect your component to change
A component built for one product nearly always needs some work before it can go in the kit. This is normal — it is not a judgement on your work.
Common changes include:
- removing anything specific to your product
- replacing fixed colours, spacing and fonts with design tokens
- adding variants other products need
- fixing accessibility issues found in review
- writing guidance so other teams know when to use it
Not every submission will be complete and ready to publish as it is — that's expected, and it's fine. The reviewers are there to help close the gap, not to catch you out.
If you maintain the Design Kit, read the guidance on reviewing, merging and publishing contributions.