Quick answer: Hire me as a design system designer for a new or early product: the component library is designed alongside every screen and state on the 14-day product design sprint, for a fixed $1,999, with the decisions written down. Retrofitting a system across a large, mature product is a different project, quoted separately.
Who this is for, and who it is not
This page is for hiring a design system designer for a defined piece of work. It is not a job listing.
- New products that will grow. Start on components so screen fifty looks like screen one.
- Teams whose interface drifted. Five different buttons consolidated into one set.
- Teams building with AI coding agents. A system agents can read, so they stop inventing components.
It is the wrong buy in these cases:
- Retrofitting a system across a large, mature product. That is its own project, quoted separately.
- A system with nobody to build it. Components need developers to become code.
- Documentation-only work. The system is designed with real screens, not in isolation.
What the 14 days look like
The product design in 14 days sprint, $1,999, runs on a schedule written down before you commit:
| When | What happens |
|---|---|
| Days 1 to 2 | Flows. The journeys that matter, mapped before anything is drawn. What the product does, in what order, and which screens actually exist. |
| Days 3 to 8 | Screens. Every screen designed against real content. You see the core flow first, so anything I have misread surfaces while it is still cheap to change. |
| Days 9 to 11 | States and system. The parts nobody designs: empty, loading, error, partial: plus the component library the build will be made of. |
| Days 12 to 14 | Prototype and handover. Wired into a clickable prototype, the file organised and documented, and a call with the people who have to build it. |
What you get for $1,999
- Every screen designed: flows, empty states, errors and loading, not just the happy path.
- A component library your developers build against.
- A clickable prototype, real enough to test and to show investors.
- Mobile and desktop where the product needs both.
- A handover call with whoever builds it.
- The decisions written beside the screens, not just the screens.
- The Figma file, yours and organised at handover.
- Two rounds of revisions inside the fortnight.
How to make the system usable by AI coding agents, with tokens, components and rules, is in design systems AI agents can build with. Examples are in design system examples.
What hiring a design system designer costs
| Route | Typical price | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Design systems specialists on marketplaces | $75 to $200 an hour | Contra's design systems guide |
| Design system projects | $10,000 to $30,000 | Contra's UI designer guide |
| Me | $1,999 for the system and screens of a new product, in 14 days | Published prices |
Contra read on 29 and 30 October 2026.
How to vet any design system designer
Whoever you hire, check these before you sign:
- Systems in shipped products. Ask to see the components in code, not only in Figma.
- Tokens with names that mean something. color.text.muted beats gray-500.
- Every state. Hover, focus, disabled, loading and error for each component.
- Accessibility built in. Contrast and focus states to WCAG 2.1 AA in the components themselves.
- Written rules. When to use each component, and when not to.
Built with the product, not before it
A design system designed in isolation tends to describe components nobody needs. Designed alongside the real screens, it contains exactly what the product uses, and nothing it does not. That is why the system is part of the product design sprint rather than a separate deliverable. Design tokens and component library define the terms.
About me
I am a product designer and developer based in Dubai, working with teams in US, EU and GCC time zones. I spoke at GITEX Dubai 2023, and I hold Contra's Framer Expert badge. The work is in the case studies, and every role you can hire me for is on hire me. Outside prices on this page were checked on 29 October 2026 unless the table says otherwise.
Design system designer questions
How much does a design system cost?
Contra's guides put design systems specialists at $75 to $200 an hour and design system projects at $10,000 to $30,000. For a new product, the system and screens are designed together on my 14-day sprint for $1,999.
Can you retrofit a system across our existing product?
Not in a 14-day sprint. Retrofitting a large, mature product is its own project and is quoted separately.
Will AI coding agents be able to use it?
Yes, if the tokens, components and rules are written down where agents read them. The design systems for AI agents guide explains the setup.
Do you build the components in code?
Not on the design sprint, which is design only. The build sprints include design and code.
Tell me about your product
Book a 30-minute call or send a brief. You get a scope, a timeline and a fixed quote within 24 hours.