Neo4j's design system, Needle, was introduced to address issues of UI/UX consistency across its products as the company scaled. The team created a prioritization matrix to determine which components to build first and operationalized design by establishing a formal design system team, guidelines website, and code library. This has allowed for scalability without losing quality or efficiency, enabling designers to focus on research, testing, and collaborative efforts, while maintaining collaboration between engineering and UX teams. The design system now includes design guidelines, templates, processes, interactive capabilities, and provides benefits such as improved velocity, consistency, accessibility, and a stronger visual identity across products.