BHDicaire

Design process

The design process is not a handoff between separate disciplines. It is a cycle that keeps design, content, implementation, and governance connected to the same evidence.

A governed design process

The process turns observed needs into reusable, verified decisions. It is iterative: evidence from later stages can return work to an earlier one.

  1. Observe

    Audit the existing experience, content, constraints, and accessibility needs before choosing a solution.

    Evidence Existing-site audit and documented needs

    Accessibility

  2. Frame

    Set information architecture, ownership, durable constraints, and the decisions that need an ADR.

    Evidence Information architecture and decision record

    Decision records

  3. Design

    Shape foundations, token roles, page layouts, and component behavior as one connected system.

    Evidence Token architecture and design-system overview

    Design system overview

  4. Specify

    Record component contracts, authoring APIs, variants, accessibility expectations, and source ownership.

    Evidence Interface manifests and component reference

    Components

  5. Build

    Implement Hugo partials, generated CSS tokens, and only the JavaScript needed for a clear interaction.

    Evidence Implementation architecture and generated outputs

    Token architecture

  6. Verify and govern

    Prove the contract with builds, checks, responsive review, and maintained guidance; then feed the result back into the next decision.

    Evidence Quality model, changelog, and current guidance

    Quality model

How to use it#

Start with the earliest stage that lacks evidence. A missing accessibility requirement belongs in Observe; a durable structural choice belongs in Frame and may need an ADR; a repeated rendering pattern belongs in Design and Specify before it becomes a component or shortcode.

Later evidence can change an earlier decision. A failed build, a contrast result, a responsive review, or an authoring problem is not a separate cleanup queue. It is input to the next cycle.

The Design system explains the reusable system this process maintains. Quality model defines the verification expectation.