Reduce development time
Challenge
Multiple teams with diverse working patterns working on a wide range of digital products hosted on different platforms and sites. We needed a cohesive system that would work on everything from Wordpress sites to custom sites to custom developed tools.
Reduce development and design time by creating a Design System that solved the top recurring issuses across projects and teams.
A core product team was formed to implement the Design System led by myself and including the Website Manager and Product Manager. We collaborated closely throughout the six month project with developers, brand managers, agencies, content designers and other stakeholders across the organisation.
In the end we developed a Design System leveraging Bootstrap (the framework already in use by developers) and bringing cohesion to the multiple iterations of the brand and component and patterns throughout the organisation.
Process
Audit of all sites
Discovery
I conducted an extensive audit of all our websites and applications to understand the top recurring components and patterns, and most common instances we saw variations and the usability issues of each one.
Accessibility
Design
A primary goal for the Design System was to embed accessibility best practices in from the ground up. Each component went through an accessibility audit we conducted in-house, with the aim to have a third-party audit as well in the near future.
Design & develop
Develop
I alongside two other members of the Design System product team actually designed the components and patterns for the Design System then worked closely with developers to bring the designs to life using Bootstrap.
Test
Develop
We collected feedback internally and ran user testing sessions to iterate on the designs leading up to the launch.
Ship
Release
To ensure uptake of the Design System we conducted multiple workshops, sent out comms and have ongoing check-ins with teams to collect feedback and identify where next to prioritise new additions.
The Design System is open-source and can be viewed here.
2023
Project for Kingston University by Elisa Morrison