What Sci-Fi Taught Me About Design, Ep. 6: How the Borg Get Design Systems Right (Too Right)

The Borg have the most consistent design system in the galaxy.

Every interface? Identical.

Every ship? A basic geometric shape, with cubes being the most common.

Every message? Monotone. Branded. Non-negotiable.

From a design systems perspective, they’re flawless.

Reusable components.

Tightly governed standards.

Instant onboarding - assuming you're fine with cybernetic implants and loss of free will.

But here’s the problem:

There’s no flexibility.

No variation.

No room for context, personality, or human input.

And that’s the danger of over-optimizing for consistency.

A good design system should unify, not homogenize.

It should help teams move fast, not erase their creativity.

Lessons from the collective:

🧠 Components should adapt, not just repeat

🧠 Visual unity is valuable - but so is user empathy

🧠 Don’t turn your designers into drones

🧠 Every system needs room for exception cases - and for evolution

The Borg are efficient.

But they’re also cold, rigid, and entirely uninterested in feedback.

A good system should work less like assimilation… and more like collaboration.