"Signify" Design System
"Signify" Design System
Head of UX / Lead Designer
Head of UX / Lead Designer
As the Head of UX and as an individual contributor to the "Signify" Design System, I lead and worked together with my team (3 - 5 designers and external development teams) to create and maintain a token-based, multi-branded design system.
The tokens were delivered in a variety of programming languages and used by over 25 teams around the world.
As the Head of UX and as an individual contributor to the "Signify" Design System, I lead and worked together with my team (3 - 5 designers and external development teams) to create and maintain a token-based, multi-branded design system.
The tokens were delivered in a variety of programming languages and used by over 25 teams around the world.
Origin Story
Origin Story
Before my arrival at Signify, the design system was purely a UI Kit created in Sketch and based on Material Design. Designs were implemented in different ways globally on a per project basis. Some teams shared code but more often than not there were issues with the look and feel or functionality.
Before my arrival at Signify, the design system was purely a UI Kit created in Sketch and based on Material Design. Designs were implemented in different ways globally on a per project basis. Some teams shared code but more often than not there were issues with the look and feel or functionality.
Our Customers
Designers & developers located in multiple countries (primarily located in main office in the Netherlands with remote offices in US, Spain, India and China).
How do we align design and development?
How do we align design and development?
Take stock of what's working and what isn't
Take stock of what's working and what isn't
Report back and create design system governance
Report back and create design system governance
Create a roadmap with manageable chunks of effort
Create a roadmap with manageable chunks of effort
Promote updates about design system
Promote updates about design system
Challenges
Challenges
Development teams not directly part of the design system team
Global team with limited time allocated to working on the design system (25 - 50% FTE time)
Teammates we're not collocated, which at times limited progress
Designers and developers not sure of source of truth, especially on the development side
Manage breaking changes to maintain trust and adoption of the design system
Development teams not directly part of the design system team
Global team with limited time allocated to working on the design system (25 - 50% FTE time)
Teammates we're not collocated, which at times limited progress
Designers and developers not sure of source of truth, especially on the development side
Manage breaking changes to maintain trust and adoption of the design system
Metrics
Metrics
Don't take my word for it.
Here's what teammates had to say about my role
Don't take my word for it.
Here's what teammates had to say about my role
"David was in charge of the design system and always made sure to be as inclusive as possible with various team members to ensure the outcome always fit the requirements and expectations of the team, regardless of the time zone where they operated."
Alex Moulin
Product Owner - Design Systems
"David was in charge of the design system and always made sure to be as inclusive as possible with various team members to ensure the outcome always fit the requirements and expectations of the team, regardless of the time zone where they operated."
Alex Moulin
Product Owner - Design Systems
"He’s the kind of leader who trusts the team to find our paths, sparking creativity and collaboration that drives us forward. David’s leadership style has not only empowered each of us individually but has also ensured that our collective goals are met with efficiency and excellence."
Wasa Ballesteros
UX/UI Designer - Design Systems
"He’s the kind of leader who trusts the team to find our paths, sparking creativity and collaboration that drives us forward. David’s leadership style has not only empowered each of us individually but has also ensured that our collective goals are met with efficiency and excellence."
Wasa Ballesteros
UX/UI Designer - Design Systems
"He was a natural fit to Lead Signify's Professional Design System where he has overseen its transition to Figma, multi-brand support, tokenization, and strategic planning – managing the contributions of both internal and external designers. David took the initiative to define the ROI of Design Systems in our company and continuously advocates for the inclusion of R&D in our way of working."
Laura Cunningham
Global Lead UX/UI Designer
"He was a natural fit to Lead Signify's Professional Design System where he has overseen its transition to Figma, multi-brand support, tokenization, and strategic planning – managing the contributions of both internal and external designers. David took the initiative to define the ROI of Design Systems in our company and continuously advocates for the inclusion of R&D in our way of working."
Laura Cunningham
Global Lead UX/UI Designer
Want to talk about this a bit more?
Want to talk about this a bit more?
I'm not able to post more online but I can share more in a 1:1 conversation about this project, my role and how I worked with, and guided this team for a 4 year stretch.
I'm not able to post more online but I can share more in a 1:1 conversation about this project, my role and how I worked with, and guided this team for a 4 year stretch.
Drop me a line