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Diego Liascovich
Diego Liascovich

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🧬 Scalable Angular Architecture with Atomic Design and BEM

#webdev #angula #frontend #architecture

By Diego Liascovich

Full-Stack Developer | Microservices | Angular | Node.js

When building large-scale Angular applications, having a clean, scalable, and maintainable architecture is key. This post explores how combining Atomic Design and BEM (Block Element Modifier) can help you build robust front-end systems with clear structure and styling consistency.

🚀 Why Architecture Matters in Angular

As your Angular project grows, so do:

  • The number of components.
  • The complexity of UI states.
  • The maintenance overhead.

A proper component and style structure can:

  • Avoid duplication.
  • Improve collaboration across teams.
  • Enhance testing and reusability.

🧪 What Is Atomic Design?

Atomic Design, coined by Brad Frost, is a methodology for creating design systems. It structures UI components into 5 levels:

  1. Atoms – Basic elements (buttons, inputs, labels).
  2. Molecules – Groups of atoms working together (input + label).
  3. Organisms – Complex components (header, card, sidebar).
  4. Templates – Page structures with dummy content.
  5. Pages – Final views with real content and data.

This hierarchy promotes reusability, consistency, and scalability.

🎨 What Is BEM (Block Element Modifier)?

BEM is a CSS naming convention:

  • Block – The standalone entity (e.g., card)
  • Element – A part of the block (e.g., card__title)
  • Modifier – A variation of a block or element (e.g., card--primary)

Example:

<div class="card card--primary"> <h3 class="card__title">Title</h3> <p class="card__content">Content</p> </div>
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It brings:

  • Predictable, non-conflicting class names
  • Easier style scoping and maintenance
  • Compatibility with component-based systems like Angular

🏗️ Project Structure in Angular with Atomic Design

Here’s a sample structure:

src/ ├── app/ │ ├── core/ # Services, guards, global logic │ ├── shared/ # Reusable atomic components │ │ ├── atoms/ │ │ ├── molecules/ │ │ ├── organisms/ │ │ ├── templates/ │ │ └── pages/ │ ├── features/ # Feature-specific modules │ └── app.component.ts ├── assets/ │ └── styles/ │ ├── _variables.scss │ ├── _mixins.scss │ ├── _typography.scss │ └── base.scss └── index.html
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Each component has its own folder:

molecules/ └── input-field/ ├── input-field.component.ts ├── input-field.component.html ├── input-field.component.scss <-- Follows BEM └── input-field.component.spec.ts
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✅ Benefits of Atomic Design + BEM in Angular

Benefit Description
🔁 Reusability Atoms and molecules can be reused across many views.
🎯 Consistency Design and naming are standardized.
🧼 Separation of Concerns UI hierarchy is clear; styles are scoped.
🧪 Easier Testing Smaller units = better unit tests.
📦 Scalability Feature and UI growth is more manageable.
👥 Team Collaboration Devs and designers can speak the same "component language".

⚠️ Potential Drawbacks

Issue Mitigation
🧩 Overhead for small apps Use only parts of Atomic Design as needed.
📂 More folders & files Use index.ts files for cleaner imports.
📚 Learning curve for new devs Add documentation and folder readme files.

🛠️ Tips for Working with Atomic + BEM

  • Stick to clear folder naming (atoms, organisms, etc.).
  • Use SCSS mixins and variables to unify styles.
  • Keep a component catalog to avoid duplicate creation.
  • Use Angular Standalone Components and Signals where it makes sense (Angular 15+).
  • Combine with Storybook for UI documentation.

📦 Conclusion

Combining Atomic Design with BEM in Angular gives you a powerful architectural base for large-scale applications. It promotes modularity, consistency, and long-term maintainability.

💬 What do you think?

Have you tried combining Atomic Design and BEM in your Angular projects? Share your thoughts, improvements, or questions in the comments!

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