Design Systems

Inconsistent UI patterns, accessibility gaps, and inefficiencies in design-to-development workflows can create major roadblocks for product teams. Without a unified system, designers and developers often work in silos, leading to duplicated efforts and fragmented user experiences. To solve these challenges, I have led the creation of scalable and accessible design systems that streamlined workflows and improved product consistency.

Industries
FinTech | E-Commerce | B2B + B2C

Tools
Figma | Storybook | Material UI | PrimeReact

The Challenge

We needed a scalable design system to unify our UI patterns, improve accessibility, and accelerate the design-to-development process.

Our client had a global presence and was managing multiple web applications, each with its own set of design patterns, causing inconsistencies across experiences. This lack of cohesion led to:

  • Design Inefficiencies
    Site authors frequently created new components from scratch.

  • Development Slowdowns
    Without standardized components, front-end engineers spent excessive time implementing UI elements.

  • Accessibility Concerns
    Many components didn’t meet WCAG 2.1 AA standards, creating usability barriers and legal concerns.

My Approach

  • To begin, I conducted a comprehensive audit across five web products, identifying redundant styles, inconsistent typography, and accessibility violations. I collaborated with developers to gather insights on their workflow pain points and researched best practices for scalable design systems.

  • Using an Atomic Design methodology, I structured the system into:

    • Design Tokens
      Standardized colors, typography, spacing, and elevation rules.

    • Core Components
      Buttons, forms, modals, tooltips, and interactive elements.

    • Complex Patterns
      Navigation systems, data tables, and responsive grids.

    Accessibility was embedded from the start by using MUI and PrimeReact as foundation, ensuring proper contrast ratios, keyboard navigability, and ARIA labeling.

  • To ensure adoption, I created a Figma-based design library with component guidelines, and reviewed our developer’s Storybook repository for front-end implementation.

    Documentation covered:

    • Best practices for using components consistently

    • Annotated design specs for easy developer integration

    • Accessibility guidelines for compliance and usability

Within six months of rollout, the design system delivered measurable improvements:

  • 75% reduction in UI inconsistencies across web products.

  • 50% faster development time as engineers reused standardized components.

  • Improved accessibility – achieving full WCAG 2.1 AA compliance across all core UI components.

  • Higher adoption – all product teams integrated the system, streamlining workflows.

The Result

A more cohesive, accessible, and scalable web experience that empowered both designers and developers.