Design Initiatives for Enhanced Workflows
My Roles: Designer, Researcher, Illustrator
Context
When I joined the team, we lacked a complete design system and documentation. Each new design task often started from scratch, which led to inconsistent designs and lower efficiency.
As I became more familiar with the company’s products and workflow, I took the initiative to create responsive templates, develop a design system with the team, document our processes, and share insights.
Marketing UI Blocks
To address the need for quick turnarounds in marketing page design, I proactively created UI blocks for both desktop and mobile. By utilizing auto layout, we were able to easily customize content for unique marketing designs, ensuring that our UI components were both efficient and reusable.
Email Templates
Previously, email designs were handled individually without a systematic approach. To ensure consistency and save time, I reviewed past email designs, consulted with the marketing team, identified key email types (such as announcements, feedback, instructions, and promotions), and developed responsive email templates for these common scenarios.
Design System
In our team, each designer focused on different aspects of the design system. My primary focus was on icon design. I reviewed and standardized icon styles and sizes, and created guidelines for their use. We discussed updates during our weekly meetings and tested the system in projects to continuously refine and improve it.
Documentation & Sharing
I summarized my past learnings and created an onboarding document to help new designers get started smoothly. I also shared design research with different teams and contributed to maintaining a company product glossary with the content team, clarifying terminology and naming conventions.
My Learning Takeaways
Every design detail can impact user experience.
I previously didn’t consider the complexity behind creating design patterns and systems. Building each design element from scratch provided deep insights into this process. For example, designing a simple toggle involved multiple iterations and discussions about its usage in different scenarios. Every small design choice, such as color states, icon placement, and switch direction, can significantly impact how users understand the product and make decisions.
I previously didn’t consider the complexity behind creating design patterns and systems. Building each design element from scratch provided deep insights into this process. For example, designing a simple toggle involved multiple iterations and discussions about its usage in different scenarios. Every small design choice, such as color states, icon placement, and switch direction, can significantly impact how users understand the product and make decisions.
Templates and systems simplify problem-solving
From observing patterns in repeated design tasks, I learned the value of using templates and design systems. This systematic approach helps solve problems more efficiently, ensures design consistency, and frees up time for more creative work, rather than starting from scratch each time.
From observing patterns in repeated design tasks, I learned the value of using templates and design systems. This systematic approach helps solve problems more efficiently, ensures design consistency, and frees up time for more creative work, rather than starting from scratch each time.
