Establishing Design Systems as a Service
From graveyard to governance.
- Year
- 2024
- Client
- Automotive Enterprise
- Role
- Design Systems Lead
I led a team to start merging 2 design systems with different maturity levels. We transformed a simple UI library into a Design System across multiple product teams. We challenged the status-quo, surveyed users, migrated tools, redesigned components, and last but not least: advocated for adoption.
Context
Our big automotive client had over 15 design systems across the organisation, a Design Systems Grave Yard, as Dan Mall calls it. You can only imagine the amount of inconsistencies and inefficiencies that were in place. The second main issue: there were no clear governance or collaboration processes. The project scope grew but the UI Library was stuck in a low maturity level.
Role
Design Systems Lead. I oversaw the entire design system initiative, sold the case and led the migration from Sketch to Figma, established a governance model and best practices, and collaborated with cross-functional teams to encourage adoption.
Constraints
Limited resources: a small part-time team on a volunteer basis. Outdated design tools and files as the starting point. And the challenge of navigating a large, complex organisational structure where changing anything required sustained advocacy over months.
Approach
We conducted an in-depth audit of existing components to identify strengths, weaknesses, and inconsistencies. From there, we established clear design principles and guidelines. We led the migration from Sketch to Figma, training teams, encouraging adoption, and sharing best practices. Then we started the process of merging two systems, adopting the more mature one while contributing enhancements.
Key Decisions
Creating a governance model was the pivotal decision: clear decision-making processes, contribution guidelines, and release cycles. This transformed the design system from a deliverable into a service. We also established iterative testing and refinement cycles based on user feedback, treating designers and developers as users of the system itself.
The strategic shift was reframing the design system not as a component library but as a service the team provides to the organisation. This meant thinking about internal communication, onboarding, documentation, and advocacy as core design work, not afterthoughts. Visually, consistency was the goal: every component decision was driven by accessibility (AA/AAA WCAG compliance) and scalability across a large, distributed product surface.
Outcomes
Gained access to 470 components, 3× more than the original library
Reduced design and development time by approximately 50%
Improved brand awareness through a unified design language across products
Enhanced accessibility scores to AA/AAA WCAG compliance
Learnings
The importance of clear and concise communication with stakeholders at all levels. Speaking Business was crucial to move the needle.
Fostering collaboration between designers, developers, and product managers is essential for successful design system adoption.
Working with large teams in complex environments with tight deadlines required patience. The system's success depended on advocacy as much as craft.