Unified Design
Adopting a new design system
I led the creation of a design system to standardize UI components, document best practices for incoming designers and facilitate developer handoff.
Challenge
No Design System? Big Problem
Home Unite Us partners with Safe Place for Youth to help homeless youth find temporary housing through an online matchmaking tool. Inconsistent UI, miscommunication and low documentation were core issues preventing this project from moving forward.
Goals
Use 'Atomic Design' methodology
To construct this design system, I used the atomic design methodology. Its modular approach treats design as a group of closely related features that can be broken down into “molecules” and “atoms.”
Create a dynamic system
Style guides and pattern libraries are often mistaken for a design system. While these can both be part of a design system, they alone are not the system. Rather, they are building blocks.
Teach design maintenance
High fidelity prototypes were not using components (reusable elements), which created inconsistency. Each designer was working in a silo rather than using a standard design library.
Design systems are always a work in progress. Throughout this process, I learned the value of teamwork, communication and iteration. While I am no longer part of this project, the groundwork is set for new designs to flourish.
