Principles

We follow atomic design methodology: atoms (primitives like buttons, inputs) compose into molecules (form fields, cards), which form organisms (forms, navigation), and ultimately templates and pages.

This approach ensures maximum reusability while maintaining flexibility. A button is just a button—but it can be styled, sized, and composed in countless ways without creating new abstractions.

Generic design systems force you to adapt business logic to UI patterns. RDS does the opposite—our components are built with music industry concepts baked in.

Track listings, release metadata, artist profiles, royalty splits, and territorial rights aren't afterthoughts. They're first-class citizens with dedicated components and patterns.

The music industry involves diverse stakeholders with different needs but overlapping data. RDS provides a unified visual language that scales across these roles.

A release card looks and behaves consistently whether it's viewed by a label admin, an artist checking their catalog, or a distributor managing deliveries. Context changes, but the experience remains familiar.

Every component ships with sensible defaults based on real-world usage patterns. You shouldn't need to configure 20 props to get a functional result.

But when your use case demands customization, the escape hatches are there. CSS variables, composition patterns, and prop overrides let you adapt without fighting the system.

Music applications live and breathe media. RDS treats audio, video, and MIDI as core primitives, not bolted-on features. The MediaCore architecture provides unified state management across all media types.

Timeline comments, waveform visualization, playback controls, and casting support share the same foundation. Whether it's a preview player or a full editing suite, the patterns are consistent.

RDS favors composition over configuration. Instead of one mega-component with 50 props, we provide smaller pieces that snap together predictably.

A page layout isn't a single component—it's PageTemplate + PageHeader + PageContent composed together. Need something different? Swap out the pieces you need without rewriting everything.

Every component is built with accessibility in mind from day one. Keyboard navigation, screen reader support, focus management, and color contrast are baked into the foundation.

We use Radix UI primitives as our base, which handles the hard parts of accessible component development. You get proper ARIA attributes, focus trapping, and keyboard interactions without extra effort.

Performance is a feature. RDS components are optimized for minimal re-renders, efficient DOM updates, and intelligent code splitting. Heavy components like media players load on demand.

We leverage React Server Components where possible, minimize client-side JavaScript, and provide loading states that make perceived performance feel instant even when the network isn't.

When you use an RDS component, you should be able to predict exactly how it will behave. Same inputs, same outputs. No hidden state, no unexpected side effects.

This predictability extends to styling (Tailwind classes work as expected), event handling (callbacks fire when you expect), and state management (controlled components stay controlled).

Documentation isn't complete until a developer can copy-paste an example and have it work. Every component includes live examples, prop tables, and guidance on common patterns.

We explain the "why" alongside the "how." Understanding the reasoning behind design decisions helps you make better choices when extending or customizing components.