Designers and product managers should take time to learn each other's role

This increases empathy and expands understanding of work tradeoffs and opportunities. The best PMs I have worked with as a designer have had some level of design ability.

Understand tradeoffs and opportunity cost

Good designers want to create beauty in the world, but sometimes things just need to be shipped. Great designers know the difference.

Let a natural process emerge

Try not to force a predefined process onto the relationship. Each individual and context is different. A natural process will emerge once trust is established and there is mutual respect for eachother's role. The soft skills really do matter.... See more

Distill design artifacts into resources that other roles will understand

Present the design process to the company

Include other roles in design brainstorming and research

Expand the role of design: UX is everyone's responsibility

Illustrate the impact non-designers have on design outcomes

Show what customers say

Present the common reoccurring positive attributes customers use to define their experience. Your brand should magnify these virtues. Ideally, you have a list of feedback to draw from. If not, set up some customer calls or surveys to solicit feedback.... See more

Examine what the competition does

How do other related companies or products position themselves? How is your offering different? Preparing a competitive audit that showcases visual style and voice and tone will help guide the discussion.

Distill values and feelings

Brand is the communication of values and associated feelings. What are your internal company values? What is your mission and vision for the future? These artifacts will help form a foundation for discussing brand.

Present existing brand artifacts

Present a brand audit. How does your company or product currently present itself? What feels right and wrong?

Ask company leaders what they think the brand should convey

Ask each participant to describe the feelings, associations, and values they think the company or product conveys. Write each attribute or value proposition down and categorize it. If greater formality or structure is needed, employ a card sorting exercise where participants choose from a set of fixed attributes or allow them to write it down and categorize common patterns.... See more

Conduct a design audit

Taking inventory of your product’s UI illuminates inconsistencies and helps the team understand what currently exists.

Define basic design elements

Design elements are the basic building blocks of a user interface.

Define design components

Design components are functional pieces of a user interface.

Define views (screens, pages, compositions)

Combine elements and components to create views.

Include design patterns

Design patterns consist of common user flows and interactions.

Create documentation

Define the best practices, guiding principles, and implementation examples.

https://www.figma.com/community/file/874766871676128442/Basic-Design

I created a basic design system in Figma. Feel free to use it in your work.