Thanks for this! Design debt is a very real thing! I think everyone has worked on ‘that product’ where someone (who has since left) made a quick layout or styling decision that’s still being a pain in the arse years later. Modals vs inline content expansion, responsive vs adaptive, % or fixed width, the list is long and boring.

I feel design debt is potentially more damaging than technical debt because at least with tech debt there is usually a clear path to repay the debt.

Design debt is different because once you’ve designed a layout or system, other decisions flow directly from that, oftentimes without the additional context of earlier ‘legacy’ decisions.

As you say, it’s one thing to have faith in the Manifesto precepts, but I bet you’ve seen people acting to the contrary of the Manifesto when it doesn’t suit their own preferences or needs. People over process, right? :)