During my career, I have had the opportunity to learn and grow in various domains by collaborating with talented individuals from different fields. My journey into design systems began in 2017, when I participated in an internal initiative to create a style guide for the Design team. Inspired by Brad Frost’s Atomic Design while working at a consultancy firm, I recognized the importance of design systems. Many UX projects involved crafting user flows and implementing them into high-fidelity designs, which enhanced consistency in UX and interaction as well as UI aesthetics.
Through collaboration with multiple professionals, I gained expertise in implementing design systems from scratch and documenting component interactions using frameworks like Bootstrap, React, and Angular. As a senior UX designer, I understood the significance of designing with established rules, documenting interactions, and knowing the appropriate use of components.
In 2018, I worked on several projects that involved designing small design systems for intranets and standardizing components across different projects. These efforts helped companies save time and optimize development processes by following the design system approach. This also demonstrated benefits not only for designers but also for developers, streamlining the creation of new flows and applications. This is a success story about planning and implementing design systems.
Design Systems: A Success Story
In 2019, I had the opportunity to work with a prominent telecommunications company. Leading the design work, I utilized Agile methodology to inventory components and plan the design effort. We focused on end-users, holding sessions with developers and designers to address challenges. I proposed a design system page to guide best practices and standards.
The challenge arose due to the recent merger and acquisition of a new company offering B2B services. The main company faced the task of integrating all systems and services for B2B customers within a short period. It was crucial for the company to have a visual guideline and maintain consistency across multiple services and products.
Our goal as a team was to collaborate with engineers and stakeholders to plan the solution. Working together, we defined the project roadmap and the necessary design phases for planning and execution. My role involved defining the design process and executing the first phase of implementation.
Under the Agile methodology and following a user-centric approach, I conducted an inventory of all components available on the B2B platforms to evaluate the effort required and plan the design work. The approach was similar to any customer-facing product, but we focused on the end-users who would use and consume the Design System. Several working sessions were organized with developers and designers to gather information and understand the challenges faced, ensuring the Design System page would cover all user needs.
The final outcome was the creation of the shell of the new design system page, serving as a single source of truth for designers and developers. This included essential information about the style guide, color palette, interactions, and the components themselves, along with dos and don’ts and a feedback layer for continuous improvement. The project took four months from the discovery phase to execution. Some challenges were encountered from the beginning, but the collaboration and dedication of the team led to a successful implementation.
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