Building a scalable design system in a large enterprise is a challenge that requires a blend of cultural change, technological standardization, and cross-functional collaboration. In this case study, I reflect on my journey of reimagining an enterprise design system, highlighting the challenges, first attempts, iterations, and ultimate transformation into a flexible, well-adopted system.
My Role: Product Owner, Lead UX
Engagement Time:
12 months ~
The Problem
Challenge
Ensuring that real people—both key stakeholders and end users—are involved in all stages of the product lifecycle, from design through implementation and change management.
Ensuring that real people—both key stakeholders and end users—are involved in all stages of the product lifecycle, from design through implementation and change management.
Core Issues Identified
- Lack of a unified design system leading to inconsistencies across digital products.
- Difficulty in achieving cross-functional alignment between designers, developers, and product teams.
- Rigid system structures that stifled creativity and slowed adoption.
- Limited budget and organizational influence at the start of the initiative.
Methodology and Approach
First Attempts
Going Back in Time – My Early Experience with Design Systems (2009)
At EF, a global education company, I led a design team responsible for internal and customer-facing applications. Recognizing the inefficiencies in fragmented design practices, we took the initiative to create the company’s first unofficial cross-platform design system.
- Developed a design kit documentation using Sketch.
- Ensured digital color accessibility using WCAG standards.
- Used Dropbox as a single source of truth for the UI kit.
- Faced resistance from leadership and product teams due to the novelty of design systems.
Despite these challenges, we successfully established a basic but effective design system that improved product consistency.
Lessons from Scaling a Design System in a Large Enterprise
The Challenge at Novartis (2020-2021)
Upon joining Novartis, I faced a similar challenge but at a much larger scale. With over 60 designers across multiple teams, our digital product ecosystem was fragmented:
- 5 domains, supporting 40-50 projects per year.
- Teams using different design tools and development frameworks (40% Angular, 20% React, 10% Vue, 30% other).
- Lack of standardization leading to inconsistent user experiences.
First Attempt: WADS (Web App Design System) – 2021
To address these issues, we built WADS, a hybrid design system with:
To address these issues, we built WADS, a hybrid design system with:
- A structured UI kit (distributed via Sketch and Abstract).
- Web components built on Stencil.js (a technology-agnostic framework).
- Code documentation hosted on Storybook for easy reference.
What did we learn?
- The system was too rigid, making designers feel restricted.
- The system was too rigid, making designers feel restricted.
- Developers had difficulty customizing components without reliance on the core team.
- Migration of existing products took longer than anticipated.
A Blessing in Disguise
Pivoting to all new design system. weOneDS
The transition from Sketch to Figma prompted us to rethink our approach. We used this opportunity to rebuild our design system from the ground up:
- OneDS was designed with a flexible, modular architecture, based on Google Material.
- Introduced a 2-layer token system, separating theme management from core components.
- Allowed for seamless theme-switching without disrupting design files.
- Developed compatibility with MUI 5, making adoption easier for development teams.
- This shift enabled teams to migrate to OneDS within weeks rather than months.
Building Trust and Adoption
1. Empowering Designers
- Onboarding process introducing new designers to OneDS fundamentals.
- A structured checklist covering tools, guidelines, and best practices.
- Created an open feedback loop via Microsoft Teams to gather insights and continuously improve the system.
2. Developer-Focused Approach
- Leveraged an open-source framework to drive adoption.
- Private NPM package installers with CLI commands for easy installation.
- Automated scripts reduced friction for teams integrating OneDS into their projects.
3. Gaining Leadership Buy-In
- Demonstrated cost savings through standardization and reduced rework.
- Showcased consistent CX improvements across the portfolio.
- Highlighted faster time-to-market for digital products due to streamlined workflows.
Overall Results
Adoption Success:
OneDS became the organization's go-to design system for designers and development teams. Saving costs and accelerating speed-to-market.
Efficiency Gains:
Reduced design decision-making and development time by enabling quick implementation of reusable components.
Scalability:
The system supported multi-brand and multi-technology environments.
Cultural Shift:
Established a mindset where the design system was seen as an enabler rather than a restriction.
Key Takeaways
1. Simplification is the Ultimate Sophistication
A well-structured, well-documented system strikes the right balance between flexibility and standardization.
2. The Power of Teaching by Sharing
An open-source mindset encourages trust, collaboration, and adoption.
3. Design Systems Are a Culture Change Disguised as a UI Kit
Success comes from shifting mindsets, not just implementing tools.
By focusing on people, processes, and technology, we transformed design system adoption into a sustainable, scalable strategy for the enterprise.