Case Study

Design System Governance

Design System Governance

Design System Governance

Creating consistent digital experiences across products and teams

Company

Orbital

Role

Sole Product Designer

Industry

Fintech

Status

Shipped

Project Overview

Project Overview

Following a design system overhaul at Orbital, product, engineering and marketing teams lacked clear implementation guidelines. As the sole designer, I investigated internal friction and created centralised documentation to reduce confusion and streamline delivery.

Following a design system overhaul at Orbital, product, engineering and marketing teams lacked clear implementation guidelines. As the sole designer, I investigated internal friction and created centralised documentation to reduce confusion and streamline delivery.

Discovery

Discovery

I gathered feedback from internal teams to identify recurring questions, implementation blockers and gaps in component guidance.

I gathered feedback from internal teams to identify recurring questions, implementation blockers and gaps in component guidance.

System Structure

System Structure

I organised the guidelines around three areas: foundations, reusable components and governance standards.

I organised the guidelines around three areas: foundations, reusable components and governance standards.

Governance Framework

Governance Framework

Introduced a governance model that extended an existing component library with foundations, guidelines, design tokens and implementation standards.

Introduced a governance model that extended an existing component library with foundations, guidelines, design tokens and implementation standards.

MMP (Minimum Marketable Product) Diagram

This diagram helped define the core functionality and user journeys for the first release.

Colour Token Governance

Colour Token Governance

Documented the purpose and usage of existing colour tokens, clarifying how shared colour values should be applied across different contexts.

Before

Revamped colour system with limited guidance on token usage.

After

Documented colour token roles, contextual usage and accessibility requirements.

Component Governance — Atoms & Molecules

Component Governance — Atoms & Molecules

Documented component anatomy, variants, states and usage guidelines to help teams implement the design system consistently.

Documented component anatomy, variants, states and usage guidelines to help teams implement the design system consistently.

Buttons — Atoms

Documented button anatomy, hierarchy and variants to establish consistent interaction patterns and implementation standards.

Account Cards — Molecules

Defined compact and expanded card variants, demonstrating how reusable components adapt to different account types and information needs.

Impact

Impact

Teams adopted the centralised documentation, significantly reducing repeated Slack questions and improving collaboration and release workflows.

Teams adopted the centralised documentation, significantly reducing repeated Slack questions and improving collaboration and release workflows.

Design System Governance Documentation →

Design System Governance Documentation →