Here at Mode, we’ve recently started building a design system to support our organization. Design systems have been a hot topic of discussion for the past few years.

Since its inception, Mode has been for data scientists and analysts. As former data scientists, my cofounders and I started Mode with the intention of building the product we wanted for ourselves. The vision expanded, but the analyst-first philosophy remained. “By analysts, for analysts” became Mode’s informal tagline.

As an analytics platform, Mode operates in a very contentious space with respect to data protection and privacy. In fact, data analytics and privacy are often viewed in conflict with each other. But are they necessarily at odds? Can you not have your cake and eat it too? At Mode, we believe you can.

Lars Kamp is the Co-Founder & Chief Data Engineer at intermix.io where he helps customers optimize Amazon Redshift and their analytics queries for peak performance. We’ve invited intermix.io to share a guest piece detailing the new data stack.

When the idea of instituting regular hack days began at Mode several years ago, it started—as it does for many companies—as a way to break out of daily business routines and explore new ideas.

What is the most efficient way to wrap your head around an unfamiliar codebase?