In 2023, I stepped into a leadership role for our design system when its original driver went on parental leave. Since then, I’ve been responsible for advancing the design system, fostering collaboration within the design leadership team, and driving adoption across the organization.
To ensure alignment and progress, I established regular meetings dedicated to discussing designs and the design system. I curate agendas, facilitate discussions, and oversee decision-making processes. I also introduced a leadership board to review and approve component creation and updates, ensuring consistency and quality.
Recognizing the importance of transparency, I implemented regular updates to keep the broader design team and development informed about the evolution of the design system. My role has naturally evolved into that of a Product Manager for the system, as I manage priorities, advocate for cross-functional support, and drive strategic initiatives.
I’ve consistently emphasized to senior leadership that a successful design system requires more than just design input—it demands development collaboration and organizational buy-in. Through various product restyling efforts, I’ve driven component development forward, culminating in a diverse library of components that were open-sourced in April 2024—a milestone I consider a major achievement.
Our focus remains on meeting the highest reasonable WCAG accessibility standards, completing a robust set of components, providing detailed redlines for developers, and delivering comprehensive documentation for designers in Figma. In late 2024, we secured additional support from the central UI/UX Center of Excellence (CoE), which I now guide and manage to further enhance documentation and component creation.
Early in 2025, I spearheaded the integration of GitHub issues to centralize all design and development tasks in one accessible platform, streamlining collaboration across teams.
In recognition of my contributions to unifying our design system efforts with the UI/UX CoE, I was honored with a HCL Software All Hands Award in February 2025. This acknowledgment reflects my commitment to fostering collaboration and delivering impactful results through our design system.