Building a Design System on Top of Blazorise

Building a Design System on Top of Blazorise

Blazorise gives you a robust set of UI primitives, a provider-based rendering model, and a consistent Blazor component API. That is exactly the foundation you want when you are building a design system for multiple product teams.

The goal is not to replace Blazorise. The goal is to stabilize a shared visual language above it: a set of tokens, components, and patterns that teams can ship without arguing about every spacing or color choice.

This post breaks down a practical approach: how to abstract components for product teams, how to create opinionated wrappers, and how to manage versioning and documentation without slowing down delivery.

Start with a Layered Model

A design system on Blazorise works best when you separate concerns. A simple, scalable model looks like this:

  • Foundation: design tokens (color, spacing, type), global CSS variables, typography rules.
  • Core components: wrappers around Blazorise primitives (Button, Input, Card, Modal).
  • Product compositions: reusable layouts and flows built from core components.

The foundation is where your visual identity lives. The core components define how teams interact with that identity. Product compositions turn those components into real workflows.

Keeping those layers distinct prevents two common failure modes: teams bypassing the system because it is too rigid, or the system becoming too loose to stay consistent.

Abstracting Components for Product Teams

Your product teams do not want to think in terms of provider-specific classes or low-level layout utilities. They want components that map to business intent: PrimaryButton, EmptyState, UserPicker, PricingCard.

Start by creating a small set of base wrappers that remove noise and standardize defaults. For example, an AppButton can centralize size, color, loading states, and analytics hooks.

<!-- AppButton.razor -->
<Button Color="@MapColor(Variant)"
        Size="@Size"
        Disabled="@IsDisabled"
        Clicked="@OnClick">
    @if (IsLoading)
    {
        <Icon Name="IconName.Spinner" Spin="true" />
    }
    <span>@ChildContent</span>
</Button>

@code {
    [Parameter] public AppButtonVariant Variant { get; set; } = AppButtonVariant.Primary;
    [Parameter] public Size Size { get; set; } = Size.Medium;
    [Parameter] public bool IsLoading { get; set; }
    [Parameter] public bool IsDisabled { get; set; }
    [Parameter] public EventCallback<MouseEventArgs> OnClick { get; set; }
    [Parameter, EditorRequired] public RenderFragment? ChildContent { get; set; }

    private Color MapColor(AppButtonVariant variant) => variant switch
    {
        AppButtonVariant.Primary => Color.Primary,
        AppButtonVariant.Secondary => Color.Secondary,
        AppButtonVariant.Destructive => Color.Danger,
        AppButtonVariant.Quiet => Color.Light,
        _ => Color.Primary,
    };
}

That wrapper becomes the default for most teams, and it is still flexible enough for edge cases. The key is not the wrapper itself, but the consistency it enables.

From there, you can define higher-level components that encode domain language. An EmptyState component can standardize layout and spacing, while still allowing teams to plug in their message and actions:

<!-- EmptyState.razor -->
<Card Class="empty-state">
    <CardBody>
        <Heading Size="HeadingSize.Is4">@Title</Heading>
        <Paragraph>@Description</Paragraph>
        <Div Flex="Flex.JustifyContent.Center">
            @ChildContent
        </Div>
    </CardBody>
</Card>

@code {
    [Parameter, EditorRequired] public string Title { get; set; } = string.Empty;
    [Parameter] public string? Description { get; set; }
    [Parameter] public RenderFragment? ChildContent { get; set; }
}

These kinds of abstractions are where product teams gain speed without losing cohesion.

Creating Opinionated Wrappers (Without Locking Teams In)

A design system should be opinionated, not oppressive. The best wrappers encode decisions that teams should not repeat, while leaving space for product-specific needs.

A good example is a form field wrapper that enforces label placement, spacing, and validation feedback. Instead of every team assembling validation blocks manually, you give them a single component with predictable output:

<!-- AppField.razor -->
<Validation Validator="@Validator">
    <Field>
        <FieldLabel>@Label</FieldLabel>
        <FieldBody>
            @ChildContent
        </FieldBody>
        @if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(HelpText))
        {
            <FieldHelp>@HelpText</FieldHelp>
        }
        <Feedback>
            <ValidationError>@ErrorText</ValidationError>
        </Feedback>
    </Field>
</Validation>

@code {
    [Parameter, EditorRequired] public string Label { get; set; } = string.Empty;
    [Parameter] public string? HelpText { get; set; }
    [Parameter] public string? ErrorText { get; set; }
    [Parameter] public RenderFragment? ChildContent { get; set; }
    [Parameter] public Func<ValidationEventArgs, Task>? Validator { get; set; }
}

This wrapper sets the structure, but teams still control the input component, validation rule, and content. That is the balance you want.

A few practical guidelines:

  • Constrain where it matters: standardize spacing, typography, and interaction patterns.
  • Expose the right escape hatches: allow Class or Style for rare cases, but document when to use them.
  • Prefer named variants: Primary, Ghost, Destructive are easier to govern than raw color and size combinations.

Keep Tokens and Styling Centralized

Blazorise makes it easy to switch providers and themes. That flexibility becomes a strength when you build a design system, because you can map your tokens to multiple providers without rewriting components.

Start by defining a small token surface and use CSS variables to make it provider-agnostic:

:root {
  --ds-color-primary: #1b6ef3;
  --ds-color-danger: #dc2626;
  --ds-radius-md: 10px;
  --ds-space-3: 12px;
  --ds-space-5: 20px;
}

.empty-state {
  border-radius: var(--ds-radius-md);
  padding: var(--ds-space-5);
}

Your wrappers should rely on those tokens rather than hard-coded values. That keeps the system consistent even as your visual identity evolves.

Versioning and Documentation Strategies

A design system is a product. It needs a release strategy, documentation, and a clear definition of what counts as a breaking change.

Versioning

  • Treat visual changes as API changes. If a default size or spacing changes, that is a breaking change.
  • Use semantic versioning for your design system package, and be disciplined about it.
  • Support a short-lived preview channel for teams that want to adopt early changes.

Documentation

  • Ship a dedicated docs site built from the same components teams will use.
  • Document not just what a component does, but when to use it and when not to.
  • Pair every component with at least one real-world usage example and a composition example.

Communication

  • Publish a concise changelog with migration notes.
  • Highlight upgrades that affect layout, spacing, or interaction patterns.
  • Maintain a compatibility table for Blazorise and .NET versions.

These practices reduce surprises and keep teams confident in the design system.

Final Thoughts

Blazorise already solves the hard problems of component architecture, provider abstraction, and rendering. Building a design system on top of it is about codifying decisions so product teams can move faster with fewer debates.

Start with a layered model, abstract components that map to intent, create opinionated wrappers with clear escape hatches, and treat versioning and documentation as first-class concerns.

That is how a Blazorise-based design system becomes a platform, not just a library.

Blog creator avatar image
Mladen Macanović
2026-01-26 · 9 min