Orbit Design System
Orbit Design System by Kiwi.com: Accelerating Travel UIs
Product design and development teams building global travel platforms face unique scaling challenges. They must handle complex data, diverse languages, and rapid changes. Therefore, a robust, centralized resource is essential for success. The Orbit Design System by Kiwi.com provides precisely this solution. It is the open-source library of components and code that transforms complicated travel interface challenges into beautiful, intuitive user experiences. In short, Orbit serves as the single source of truth for the entire Kiwi.com ecosystem.
Code-Backed Foundations for Global Scale
The success of a system like Orbit hinges on its architectural flexibility. Kiwi.com’s engineers built Orbit using a monorepo that contains all important packages and documentation.
- Supported Coding Languages/Frameworks: Orbit’s primary web components use React and are heavily typed using TypeScript. The system utilizes Tailwind CSS for styling, with a dedicated preset package. For native applications, Kiwi.com previously maintained an Orbit library for SwiftUI (iOS), which shows their commitment to cross-platform consistency.
- Design Tokens: Yes. Orbit relies on an independent
@kiwicom/orbit-design-tokens
package. These Design Tokens are atomic pieces that abstract and store all visual design attributes, like color, spacing, and typography. This token-based approach allows developers to easily generate custom themes for different products.
Theming, Consistency, and User Experience
Kiwi.com designed Orbit to ensure visual and functional consistency across all travel touchpoints, from flight searches to booking platforms. The system prioritizes user clarity and accessibility, especially critical in high-stress travel scenarios.
- Dark Mode Support: Yes. Orbit’s color palette explicitly defines Light and Dark shades for its foundation colors (Product, Ink, Cloud). This indicates the system is built to support different themes, including Dark Mode, and ensures sufficient contrast for accessibility.
- Outbound Link: To understand the open-source foundation, you can explore the Orbit Design System components on GitHub. The repository contains the React component library and other packages.
By adopting this well-structured component library, product teams ship new features faster. They focus on complex travel logic instead of reinventing basic UI elements. Ultimately, the Orbit Design System by Kiwi.com provides a blueprint for managing a complex UI at scale, offering world-class patterns and comprehensive documentation. Explore our resource for other proven design systems today and take your product development to new heights.