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Shaun Bent

@shaunbent.co.uk
1.2K followers 248 following 225 posts

👋 Design System & Accessibility Consultant | Founder @53degrees.studio ⏮️ ex-Spotify & ex-BBC 🐝 Living in Manchester 🐶 I own a pug, he's old

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Shaun Bent @shaunbent.co.uk · 20h
Sweden is a nation of people who stand in train doorways and the at the top of escalators. Another favourite is standing midway down a flight of stairs. Zero awareness of their surroundings. So infuriating to live around.
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Shaun Bent @shaunbent.co.uk · 07/10/2026
My design systems writing has moved to a permanent home on the @53degrees.studio site. I had loads of fun designing and building it, and all the old links redirect. Next week: a 6,500-word, three-part story about building a "System of Systems" at Spotify. Grab a brew. ☕️ 🔗 53degrees.studio/posts
Graphic reading "Same writing, new home" and "53degrees.studio/posts". Below, a screenshot of the Studio 53° blog's Posts page on desktop, featuring "Design handoff belongs in the bin", overlapped by a phone screenshot of the article "Why Federated Design Systems Keep Failing".
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Shaun Bent @shaunbent.co.uk · 30/09/2026
Guy on LinkedIn bragging about laying off 80% of his designers. 🤦‍♂️ To me it screams, toxic, poor leadership, certainly not something to be proud of.
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Shaun Bent @shaunbent.co.uk · 22/09/2026
I'm joining @bencallahan.com again on The Question this week. Share your thoughts and come join the discussion. Should be fun. 🤩 🔗 bit.ly/answerTheQuestion
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Shaun Bent @shaunbent.co.uk · 15/09/2026
One of my favourite recent discoveries.
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Shaun Bent @shaunbent.co.uk · 14/09/2026
I help organisations fix the people, culture and organisational challenges that stall design system efforts. Currently working with organisations like GDS and Lovable. If you're facing interesting design system challenges, or leading one that's stalled, I'd love to hear about it. DMs open.
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Shaun Bent @shaunbent.co.uk · 14/09/2026
It's been a little over a year since I left Spotify, after nine years of leading design systems and accessibility engineering. I've been pretty quiet about what I'm up to now. I now run my consultancy @53degrees.studio. 53degrees.studio
The text "Hello World" with a waving-hand emoji sits on a teal background. Below is the Studio 53 Degrees logo.
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Shaun Bent @shaunbent.co.uk · 11/09/2026
Started seeing this on those LinkedIn job emails, companies using HDR logos so they stand out.
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Shaun Bent @shaunbent.co.uk · 23/08/2026
A grumble of pugs. 🐶
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Shaun Bent @shaunbent.co.uk · 30/07/2026
Totally acceptable. Also see a full angel delight, though you will feel sick after.
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Shaun Bent @shaunbent.co.uk · 28/07/2026
Sprints didn’t make sense before the AI onslaught. Entirely arbitrary blocks of time.
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Shaun Bent @shaunbent.co.uk · 28/07/2026
Scrum is nonsense that belongs in the bin. 🗑️
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Shaun Bent @shaunbent.co.uk · 18/07/2026
+1 @chrismedlandf1.bsky.social please pick a better platform.
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Shaun Bent @shaunbent.co.uk · 07/07/2026
If you’re acknowledging that it’s a stunt then make the stunt fail by not standing a candidate. @zackpolanski.bsky.social as a member of the party, please do not stand a candidate.
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Shaun Bent @shaunbent.co.uk · 07/06/2026
But if we say AI we can jack up the price. 💡
static.klipy.com
Tkt Smart Meme: Think Smart
Alt: Tkt Smart Meme: Think Smart
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rem / Remy Sharp @remysharp.com · 02/06/2026
In Katie's words: Please share if you think Greens should be doing better 💚 @bhgreens.bsky.social @greenparty.org.uk @zackpolanski.bsky.social
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Amy Hupe @amyhupe.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
Hi BlueSky pals 📣 Having just completed a fun project with the folks at Clearleft, I’m on the lookout for my next project. I’m open to part-time or full-time contracts outside IR35 and I can help you with: - design systems consultancy & management - content design - design systems documentation
amyhupe.co.uk
Testimonials
Content design and design systems consultant
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Shaun Bent @shaunbent.co.uk · 01/06/2026
This can’t be true. You’re telling me when the UK was in the EU we got to vote on laws? We didn’t just have to do whatever Brussels said? 🤯 I for one am shocked, I feel lied to, something, something sovereignty.
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Shaun Bent @shaunbent.co.uk · 29/05/2026
Apparently, he was with his wife and kid. Poor kid being brought up in that environment, having those fucked up views pushed on him.
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Shaun Bent @shaunbent.co.uk · 29/05/2026
A friend coming to visit me in Manchester today has just gotten off her train two stops early and is walking because she felt uncomfortable on the train with a racist guy shouting about immigrants being invaders and getting arrested for attacking travellers. Grim. 🤢
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Shaun Bent @shaunbent.co.uk · 29/05/2026
You've got to look at the positive side: someone is getting a promotion because they "did AI". 🤦‍♂️
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Shaun Bent @shaunbent.co.uk · 28/05/2026
550/1 - equates to a 0% chance of winning.
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Shaun Bent @shaunbent.co.uk · 27/05/2026
Is badgering by campaigners not essentially what all parties due during an election?
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Shaun Bent @shaunbent.co.uk · 27/05/2026
It doesn't really matter. Reform voters are voting for Nigel, not Robert Kenyon. It could be literally anyone standing for Reform, and people would still vote because they think it means Nigel.
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Shaun Bent @shaunbent.co.uk · 22/05/2026
Introduce yourself with ten bands you’ve seen live City & Colour Foo Fighters Oasis Fall Out Boy Hot Milk Kids in Glass Houses Enter Shikari A Day to Remember Lady Gaga Elton John
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Shaun Bent @shaunbent.co.uk · 15/05/2026
The team who owned these API was laid off. 😔
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Shaun Bent @shaunbent.co.uk · 15/05/2026
So many feature decisions are decided by handful of senior leaders. Design by HiPPO. I saw multiple times leaders demanding features based on their opinions, against the team’s advice, data from user testing supported the team but it still went ahead because the leader knew better than the data.
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Shaun Bent @shaunbent.co.uk · 03/05/2026
You’re crazy. How do you even come up with these ideas? 🙈
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Shaun Bent @shaunbent.co.uk · 30/04/2026
🙏 Thanks for replying. I feel what you’re saying, it does seem endless.
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Shaun Bent @shaunbent.co.uk · 30/04/2026
I love your content, have helped crowdfund all your books, please consider using a different platform to host your content: leavesubstack.com
leavesubstack.com
You Should Probably Leave Substack
You should probably leave Substack. Here’s why and how.
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Shaun Bent @shaunbent.co.uk · 27/04/2026
Film you've watched more than six times with a gif. Hard mode: no Star Trek, Star Wars, LOTR, DC, Marvel, Disney, Pixar, Spielberg, Cameron, Wachowskis, or Ghibli.
media.tenor.com
a man with long hair says put the bunny in front of a danger sign
Alt: a man with long hair says put the bunny in front of a danger sign
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Shaun Bent @shaunbent.co.uk · 23/04/2026
Design handoff belongs in the bin. Not improved, made irrelevant. 🗑️ It's a waterfall relic we've normalised as best practice. I wrote about what the alternative looks like and how to get there. 🔗 bit.ly/4e4Blae
bit.ly
Design handoff belongs in the bin
Improving the handoff process is a worthy goal, but it's the wrong one. The goal should be to make handoff irrelevant entirely, and here's how you get there.
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Shaun Bent @shaunbent.co.uk · 17/04/2026
It’s a good album, enjoying it aswell. They were in Manchester the day of the album launch and signed a few copies at a local record store and I managed to grab one. 😍
Signed copy of Enter Shikari’s album: Lose Your Self on vinyl, sitting on a marble countertop.
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Monteiro @monteiro.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
Y'all need to get the fuck off Substack.
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Guy Segal @guysegal.com · 11/04/2026
I’m so fucking tired of tech bros
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Ben Callahan @bencallahan.com · 08/04/2026
Just an hour left to get your answers in for The Question Episode 072: bit.ly/answerTheQue... We're talking about Extreme #designsystem Support!
bit.ly
The Question is a weekly conversation for anyone seriously interested in Design Systems.
Each Monday, you’ll receive an email from me with a design system related question. You’ll have 48 hours to answer. If you choose to do so, you’ll receive an invite to the deep dive on Thursday (or Fr...
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Shaun Bent @shaunbent.co.uk · 08/04/2026
👀
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Shaun Bent @shaunbent.co.uk · 10/03/2026
Seriously. Every message in a channel is not a personal message to you that requires a response. 🤦‍♂️
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Amy Hupe @amyhupe.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
It’s that time again - I’m on the hunt for new clients from the beginning of April. I’m open to full or part-time contracts outside IR35. I can help you with: - design system consultancy, coaching, management or documentation - content design - UX writing - technical writing 1/2
amyhupe.co.uk
Hello.
Content design and design systems consultant
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Shaun Bent @shaunbent.co.uk · 27/02/2026
Very nice to wake up to this! 💚
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Shaun Bent @shaunbent.co.uk · 23/02/2026
Design systems are platform problems, not feature problems. Operating within a feature organisation can push design system teams from macro thinking to micro thinking. That misalignment compounds until the system stops functioning as a platform. www.shaunbent.co.uk/blog/design-...
shaunbent.co.uk
Design systems are platform problems, not feature problems
Where you put your design system team with your organisation determines how they think, what they build, and whether the system stays a platform or the teams become a UI feature factory.
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Shaun Bent @shaunbent.co.uk · 22/02/2026
This needs a flashing light warning. 🙈 It was a lot, but I loved it. 💜
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Shaun Bent @shaunbent.co.uk · 19/02/2026
This is going to be a great episode of “24 hours in Police custody”!
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Shaun Bent @shaunbent.co.uk · 18/02/2026
🙏💜
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Shaun Bent @shaunbent.co.uk · 18/02/2026
Try now. 🙏
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Shaun Bent @shaunbent.co.uk · 18/02/2026
Every company has that one person who it seems like all they do is sit on Slack all day, instantly responding to everything and seems to be in every channel and conversation. 🙈
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Shaun Bent @shaunbent.co.uk · 18/02/2026
Thank you for reading it. 💜
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Shaun Bent @shaunbent.co.uk · 17/02/2026
Thanks for reading and saying that. 🙏 We both worked there long enough to know how wild and nonsensical some of the decisions are. Not the most fun situation, but it was fun to write about.
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Shaun Bent @shaunbent.co.uk · 17/02/2026
Thanks for sharing. You're right about the positioning challenge. When leadership doesn't see design systems as critical infrastructure, they treat them as shuffleable nice-to-haves. That gap is where these bad decisions come from and the challenge we as DS leaders need to overcome.
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Shaun Bent @shaunbent.co.uk · 17/02/2026
Sometimes decisions are made for you. Everyone knows they're wrong, but you can't change them, and as a leader, you have to guide your team through it. I wrote a story of layoffs, reorgs, and bad decisions. How I led my team through it, and what I learnt. www.shaunbent.co.uk/blog/when-th...
shaunbent.co.uk
When the Decision Is Made, and You Can't Change It
Sometimes decisions are made for you. They're clearly wrong, and you can't change them. This is about how you lead anyway.
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