Frequently Asked Questions

It can be daunting to send a message out of the blue, so hopefully I can answer some of your questions up-front. If not, please don’t hesitate to reach out for more details.

Can you help us with our design system?

Definitely! I am specialized in helping organizations to create and evolve design systems. If you’re wrestling with challenges and would like my help, please get in touch and we’ll have a conversation to get started.

Do you work with smaller organizations?

Yes, absolutely. I’ve worked with organizations of all sizes, from startups to large enterprises. I tend to favor organizations that are just starting their design system journey and need help setting up the right tooling, processes and teams — all the way down to designing and developing complete design system platforms for them.

How much does it cost?

While every project I work on is different, here’re some ballpark starting prices from the past projects to give you a rough idea whether I fit your budget plans or not.

  • Research & Audits: starting at 10 000 €
  • Consultation & Strategy: starting at 15 000 €
  • Design System Tools: starting at 20 000 €
  • Product Design: starting at 30 000 €
  • Design System Foundations: starting at 40 000 €
  • Design Systems: starting at 75 000 €
  • Hourly rate: 120 € (+ VAT if applicable)
  • Daily rate: 900 € (+ VAT if applicable)

Do you have availability for new clients?

I currently have limited availability for new clients (1-2 days per week). If you’d like to discuss a potential collaboration, please get in touch.

Do you have a downloadable resume?

Of course, you can download my resume in a PDF format here. If you prefer, the same information is also available on LinkedIn.

Do you also do product design?

Yes, I have a long experience working as a product designer and a frontend developer. I believe the best way to design digital products is to prototype them in code, instead of creating static mockups in tools such as Figma. This ensures that the original design intent is carried all the way to the end product. Obviously, I’m comfortable working together with your team in tools such as Figma as well when needed.

What services do you offer?

I offer a range of services, from full-scale design system projects and short consultations to embedding into your organization for the long term. Please see the services page for a better overview of everything I provide.

Do you offer workshops?

I do! I offer tailored workshops about design systems and a number of other topics as a part of the services I provide. If you’d like me to come to your organization and conduct a workshop, please feel free to contact me.

Do you speak at conferences?

I am currently not accepting invitations to speak at conferences, although have done so in the past. This may change in the future, but I currently prefer to give my full focus to my clients and their projects.

Do you offer design system audits?

Yes, I do! I offer design system audits as a part of the services I provide. If you’d like me to come to your organization and conduct a design system audit, please feel free to contact me.

Can we hire you full-time?

I am open to different types of engagements, including full-time positions. I prefer working through my own company, but please reach out to discuss more about a potential collaboration.

Where are you located?

I currently live in Helsinki, Finland, but am available for both local and remote design system projects around the world. Previously, I lived in San Francisco, California before relocating back to Finland.

What is a design system?

A “Design System” is a collection of reusable components and tools, guided by clear standards, that can be assembled together to build digital products and experiences. Design systems solve the easy problems, so that products can solve hard problems more easily.

What is the goal of a design system?

The goal of a design system is to improve user interface consistency and quality, while making software design and development processes more efficient. A design system also helps to establish a common vocabulary between everyone in the organization and ease collabo­ration between different teams and disciplines.

What is a design systems architect?

A “Design Systems Architect” is a systems thinker; designing for the whole rather than the individual parts. As an architect, I collaborate with design, product and engineering teams on the tactical and strategic direction of a design system and help my clients set up the right tooling, processes and teams — all the way down to designing and developing complete design system platforms for them.

What is the typeface used on this website?

The typeface used on this website is Brandon Text in Regular, Regular Italic, Bold and Black styles.

Who designed and developed this website?

This website was designed and developed by me, Ariel Salminen. Additionally, all contents on this website are written by me.

Who designed your logo?

Ilkka Janatuinen designed the logomark visible on this website in 2022.

Ariel Salminen logo

What tools did you use to build this website?

This website is handcrafted with vanilla HTML, CSS and JavaScript, built with Eleventy, and hosted on Netlify. The designs and pages were created in Safari using its developer tools and the Cursor code editor. Content was written in iA Writer.

Do you have old versions of your website still around?

What keyboard shortcuts does this website provide?

  • Press Ctrl+K to open the search.
  • Press ⏎ to select a search result.
  • Press ↓ to navigate to the next search result.
  • Press ↑ to navigate to the previous search result.
  • Press Esc to dismiss the search or a modal.
  • Press ⇥ to navigate forward on the page.
  • Press ⇧+⇥ to navigate backward on the page.
  • Press Alt+A to toggle the layout grid.
  • Press Alt+R to toggle the color blind mode.
  • Press Alt+I to toggle the invert mode.
  • Press Alt+E to toggle the low vision mode.
  • Press Alt+L to open the shortcuts modal.

Can you provide feedback on X/Y/Z?

I hope you understand that if I had an infinite amount of time to answer every single email I get, I would love to connect with everyone that has ever reached out and provide feedback on whatever you’re building. Unfortunately, this is not possible for me because it takes me away from running my business and taking care of my family.

Can we get together for coffee?

As much as I’d love to say yes, I’m afraid coffee meetings take me away from more important things (unless you and me are friends, of course ❤️). Instead, please email me first to connect and ask any questions. We can then arrange to meet in person, if useful.

Do you have a short bio that we could use?

There is a short bio available here that you can use in interviews, articles and such. For more detailed information, please see the about page.

Do you have a high-resolution photo of yourself?

You can find a high-resolution portrait photograph from the about page’s “Downloads” section.

Can I write a guest post on your blog?

No, you cannot.

Where can I find your company information?

Name: Ariel S. Design
VAT ID: FI20471221
Business ID: 2047122-1
Email: info@arielsalminen.com

I couldn’t find an answer to my question?

If you couldn’t find an answer to your question, please don’t hesitate to reach out for more details.

— Ariel Salminen.

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