After a few years designing at a fast-paced startup as the only designer, our platform had grown complex. We had multiple user-facing surfaces including the internal admin tool, merchant and creator dashboards, and a Chrome extension. Over time, the company went through several rebrands and a name change, and engineering had introduced their own variations on the admin platform. Inconsistencies were emerging and design debt was building up.
As we prepared to expand the design team, it became clear that a formal system was needed to unify the experience and establish shared standards. The first step was conducting a comprehensive design audit.
The Audit
I began by cataloging every component, pattern, and visual inconsistency across the platform. This included both design files and live product screens. I compared variations in typography, color, spacing, and iconography, noting where styles diverged between the admin, merchant, and creator experiences.
I also documented ad hoc solutions that had appeared over time, such as buttons with slightly different border radii, inconsistent shadows, and duplicated components under different names. Seeing everything side by side made it clear which patterns were working and which needed to be consolidated or removed.
The outcome was a complete snapshot of the system’s current state and a strong foundation for defining new, scalable standards.
The System
With the audit complete, I organized the findings into a structured design system that could scale with the team. I started by defining a clear visual language that covered color, typography, spacing, and grid standards. From there, I rebuilt core components such as buttons, form fields, tables, and modals, ensuring each one was consistent, flexible, and easy to maintain.
To make the system practical for both design and engineering, I partnered closely with front-end developers to align on tokens, component behavior, and documentation. Every element was built to balance usability with visual consistency across the admin, merchant, and creator experiences.
The result was a unified, documented system that made design decisions faster, improved handoff to engineering, and laid the groundwork for new designers to onboard easily.
The Outcome
The new system immediately improved collaboration between design and engineering. With shared tokens, component guidelines, and documentation in place, engineers could implement new features faster and with fewer design reviews. Visual consistency across the platform increased significantly, and design debt stopped accumulating.
Engineering adoption was strong from the start. Developers appreciated the clarity of the system and began contributing improvements and new components back into the library. What started as a design initiative became a shared source of truth for the entire product team.
As a result, design and development time for new features dropped noticeably, handoffs became smoother, and the overall user experience felt more cohesive and polished.
