Design Systems are all the rage in the world of Web design these days, and for good reason. Good design has always been about design system thinking, and when applied to the Web, it results in robust sites that s are able to evolve over time, grow with your business, adapt to new technologies like phones and watches, and provide a better user experience. Drupal is great for design systems thinking, and that's why Palantir is making it a theme of DrupalCon Los Angeles.

Start off with my article "Strategies for a Designer-friendly CMS" in the latest issue of Drupal Watchdog, which attendees will find in their conference swag bags. It's based on my presentation "Design Systems and Drupal", which you may have caught at a conference in the last few months. (If not, tell your local DrupalCamp to have me come and present it!)

Tuesday afternoon, fellow Palantiri Steve Persch will be presenting on Rendering HTML with Drupal; Past, Present, and Future, discussing how the Drupal approach to theming has changed over the years and how the mental models we use have evolved. Did you know there's two completely different theming philosophies intertwined into one system? Steve will explain how that came to be, and what the future holds. You can get a jump on the topic with Steve's two part series on the Panels module, and why we use it extensively at Palantir. Catch him at 2:15 pm in room 502B.

Wednesday morning, Drupal Watchdog is hosting a meet the authors session at their booth in the Exhbit Hall with both Steve and I. Come by at 10:15 am to chat Design Systems, Drupal, writing, and vests.

Immediately after, Steve and I will also be hosting a BoF (Birds of a Feather - group discussion) on Design Systems and their future within Drupal. Join us in room 506 at 10:45 am to discuss how to better leverage design systems in our favorite CMS.

And finally, Thursday kicks off with Steve presenting in the Core Conversations track about What Panels can teach us about Web Components. Web Components are coming soon to a browser near you, and you need to be ready. "Ready" in this case means "know your Panels module", as it uses the mental model that you will need in a componentized, design-systems-based world. Come by Core Conversations (room 518) at 10:45 am to discuss a design-system-web-component-panels-all-the-things future for Drupal.

Even if you can't catch one of those sessions, you can still catch Palantir at our booth (Booth 103 on your map) any time if you want to talk about design systems, a project you have, or the fine art of Nerf wars. Or find us at one of our other sessions: Drupal 8: The Crash Course and Buidling sustainable recruiting strategies on Tuesday, Silex: Mini-Symfony! on Wednesday, No on Wednesday (yours truly, talking about the importance of focus and prioritization), and advice on Relaunch strategies for Drupal 8 and the modern web on Thursday to finish off sessions. Then join everyone at Palantir Trivia Night on Thursday to show your Drupal-fu.

See you there!

Addendum: The BoF session went very well, with about 20 people in attendance! Several people collaborated on a notes document, which is publicly available. Hat tip to Lewis Nyman who I believe wrote most of them.