Sirius Design System
📝 I built a scalable design system from scratch in Figma and partnered with engineering to implement it in Storybook.
❌ The existing design system had no documentation, was WCAG 2.0 noncompliant, and had performance issues.
💡 This was an opportunity to create a WCAG 2.0 compliant, performance-first design system that drives enterprise revenue.
Constraints
- Ensure minimal visual disruption to preserve user familiarity.
- Must pass WCAG 2.0 accessibility requirements.
- Ensuring consistency across light and dark modes.
Timeline & Methods
- July to January (6 months).
- Accessibility audits (WCAG 2.0), atomic design, Figma component design & prototyping, and design system documentation.
Role & Scope
- Owned the end-to-end design system, partnering with product and engineering to implement components in Storybook.
- Weekly update sessions with the Lead Product Designer.
Strategy and Approach
Selected Framework
Atomic design provided a scalable framework for consistency and accessibility, breaking the UI into reusable building blocks that sped up development, reduced visual inconsistencies, and ensured WCAG 2.0 compliance across the platform.
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Ensuring WCAG 2.0 AA Adherence
✅ Colour Contrast
- Color accessibility was validated at the component level using accessibility tools as designs were created.
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✅ Keyboard & Screen Reader Support
- Every interactive component was designed with clear, visible focus states and predictable interaction patterns.
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✅ Accessibility Documentation
- Component-specific accessibility requirements were clearly documented to guide developers.
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From Atoms to Organisms
Design System Highlights
Below is a curated selection of atoms, molecules, and organisms highlighting the depth and scalability of the design system; these examples represent a subset of the components built.
🌰 Atoms
- Cut the color palette from 126 to 41 tokens while ensuring WCAG 2.0 AA compliant contrast in light and dark modes.
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🌱 Molecules
- Fully documented Select component with anatomy, variants, and developer notes to standardize usage and eliminate guesswork.
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🌸 Organisms
- Redesigned data tables with pagination and horizontal scroll, boosting performance and usability for large, research-heavy datasets.
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Before and After
Homepage
🔧 Before
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⭐ After
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Contact Profile Page
🔧 Before
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⭐ After
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Lists Page
🔧 Before
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⭐ After
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Implementation Process
Collaboration with Engineering
- Adopted a headless Adobe React library for faster builds and flexible design.
- Refined component documentation with developers to catch technical blind spots.
Collaboration with Product Management
- Balanced ongoing feature work while rolling out the system over six months.
- Sprinkled design system tickets across sprints to avoid disrupting releases.
Enterprise Demos
- Created mockups using new Figma components for stakeholder and customer reviews.
- Gathered early feedback while demonstrating system scalability and accessibility.
Impact and Outcomes
💰 Revenue Unlocked
$700K ARR unlocked by onboarding two banks thanks to a WCAG 2.0 compliant design system.
✅ WCAG 2.0 AA Compliant
Platform fully WCAG 2.0 AA compliant, meeting enterprise accessibility requirements.
⏩ Time Saved
Hours to days saved for designers and developers through reusable, standardized components.
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