Category:
Design Systems
Role:
Product Designer
Team:
Team A: Product Designer, CTO + FE; Team B: Product Designer, Design Lead
Timeline:
2023 to 2025
Over the past two years, I have worked across the full lifecycle of design systems. First, as a solo designer building one from scratch at Team A (startup) with no existing design infrastructure, and later overhauling one at Team B, where the system had remained unchanged since my departure in 2022.
Having experienced the challenges of designing a system without a foundation, I developed a strategic, scalable mindset that shaped how I approached revitalising an ageing design system.
IMPACT ————
CHALLENGES ————
Team A built a SaaS product with no existing design infrastructure. The interface relied heavily on input fields, data tables, modals, and various buttons, but these elements were scattered across the product with inconsistent styling and behaviour. The colour theme was inaccessible and gave the product a dated appearance. Whenever a new feature was started, developers either created projects with limited reusable components or built everything from scratch, leading to inconsistent code and design patterns across the product.
Team B had a design system that had grown organically for over 5 years without a modern structure. For instance, the Input component alone once had 127 variants, making it cumbersome for the designer to navigate and slowing down feature design. The system lacked hierarchy and scalability, creating a high maintenance burden for a solo designer.
SOLUTION SPACE ————
At Team A, I aimed to reduce repetitive discussions and improve efficiency while maintaining quality. I set up a components board to maintain visibility, prioritised key components for updates, and created a shared space to align with developers on behaviour, variants, and accessibility.
At Team B, I modernised the ageing system, reorganised all web and mobile components from a single page into 7 UI application categories, simplified the hierarchy, and created a practical, maintainable structure for a small design team.
