Note · Design systems · 12 December 2025 · 6 min

Designing Dense UI's Component System

Shaping a React component library for data-heavy tools — export boundaries, density tokens, Radix accessibility primitives, Storybook QA, and bundle budgets.

A component library for tools is a different shape from a component library for marketing.

This note covers density tokens as regional props, the bundle budget that fails CI, the Radix-borrowed accessibility layer, and the Storybook regression suite that catches visual drift. The component system still exists as supporting technical evidence, but Cardinal now carries the lead systems story in the flagship index.