- NewsWorldStream

Let’s be real: using most modern UI libraries feels like they were built by and for teams with 100+ engineers… not everyday devs trying to get something shipped. Over the years, I’ve worked with almost every major library out there. And while many are polished, they’re not always practical. So I decided to build my own — introducing Elementrix-UI. But first — let’s talk about what’s broken. A Quick History: Why These Libraries Were Built Most of today’s popular UI libraries were born out of specific needs at a specific time. MUI (Material-UI) started as a faithful implementation of Google’s Material Design for React, aiming to bring visual consistency and accessibility to apps. Chakra UI focused on developer experience and accessibility out of the box — a breath of fresh air when other libraries were verbose or rigid. Ant Design was designed for enterprise-scale dashboards, prioritizing dense UI with built-in patterns for data-heavy apps. Tailwind UI came from the success of utility-first CSS, answering the demand for speed and visual cohesion in frontend design. They all had valid use cases — and still do in the right contexts. But here’s the issue: They were built for specific stacks, specific workflows, and specific assumptions that don’t scale well across projects, teams, or frameworks. And today’s dev world? It’s messier (and more exciting) than ever: Teams hop between React, Vue, Angular, and even Astro or Svelte. Micro frontends are the norm. Design systems need to outlast individual projects. Solo developers need to move fast without spending a week configuring themes or wrangling state logic. The result? You hit a wall — fast. Most libraries box you into their way of doing things… and getting out takes more effort than just building the thing yourself. The UI Component Landscape: Pros & Cons Here’s a quick rundown of some of the most widely used UI libraries today, what they offer, and where they fall short.

Mar 26, 2025 - 00:06

Let’s be real: using most modern UI libraries feels like they were built by and for teams with 100+ engineers… not everyday devs trying to get something shipped.

Over the years, I’ve worked with almost every major library out there. And while many are polished, they’re not always practical. So I decided to build my own — introducing Elementrix-UI.

But first — let’s talk about what’s broken.

A Quick History: Why These Libraries Were Built

Most of today’s popular UI libraries were born out of specific needs at a specific time.

MUI (Material-UI) started as a faithful implementation of Google’s Material Design for React, aiming to bring visual consistency and accessibility to apps.
Chakra UI focused on developer experience and accessibility out of the box — a breath of fresh air when other libraries were verbose or rigid.
Ant Design was designed for enterprise-scale dashboards, prioritizing dense UI with built-in patterns for data-heavy apps.
Tailwind UI came from the success of utility-first CSS, answering the demand for speed and visual cohesion in frontend design.

They all had valid use cases — and still do in the right contexts.

But here’s the issue:

They were built for specific stacks, specific workflows, and specific assumptions that don’t scale well across projects, teams, or frameworks.

And today’s dev world? It’s messier (and more exciting) than ever:

Teams hop between React, Vue, Angular, and even Astro or Svelte.
Micro frontends are the norm.
Design systems need to outlast individual projects.
Solo developers need to move fast without spending a week configuring themes or wrangling state logic.

The result?

You hit a wall — fast.

Most libraries box you into their way of doing things… and getting out takes more effort than just building the thing yourself.