A Design System from Scratch
A self-initiated effort that built trust for UX
Time Frame
19 months from pitching to implementation (09/23 – ongoing)
Our Team
1 Project Lead (me) | 1 UX Designer | 1 UX Researcher | 2 Engineers
My Contribution
Problem analysis | Adoption strategy | Design |Documentation
Project Overview
In late 2024, I initiated and led the creation of a design system to bring clarity and consistency to my company Gale’s fragmented product ecosystem. I gained director approval for initiative, then innovatively executed alongside regular projects to establish design system across 20+ products.
By May 2025, the system was actively used across new prototypes and accessibility projects. It improved speed, reduced rework, made collaboration easier across UX and engineering, also accelerated contractor and vendor onboarding. It was planned to be implemented in 30-40 products across platforms.
Business Impact & User Impact
Estimated UX time saved annually
260+ hours
UX & Engineer time saved per UI story
1~3 hours
Adopted in new product prototypes
100%
The Problems
While building a product from scratch in 2022, I saw how the lack of a design system slowed design and delivery. As I worked across more teams and products, the scale of the issue became clearer.
- Component reuse was inconsistent and undocumented, leading to confusion, rework, and hesitation around updates.
- Design decisions relied on tribal knowledge, requiring frequent coordination to locate or understand existing elements.
- Legacy inconsistencies were widespread. For example, we conducted a heuristic review of our products, revealed 61+ card variants, which I estimated could be consolidated to under 50.
These issues led to delays and duplicate work. I decided to proactively lead a UX team effort to build a system that worked for our reality. We couldn’t adopt the parent company’s React based system due to our historical JSP tech stack.
Component updates blocking team progress
Gaining Buy-In
As the value of a design system became clear to the UX team, I needed buy-in and prioritization from leadership. I took the initiative to build a business case, grounded in real inefficiencies, time costs, and cross-team communication pain points.
Before presenting, I consulted with UI engineers and designers to understand constraints and build early support. Their input helped me propose realistic staffing scenarios that balanced system work with ongoing projects.
Leadership approved the concept, though without dedicated resourcing.
Estimated team commitment scenarios I proposed as part of the pitch, based on direct input from engineers and designers.
Full speed
2024 1st quarter
2 UI Engineers
1 from each market team
70%
3 UX Designers
1 from each market team
70%
Software Engineer
Support
Medium speed
2024 1st & 2nd quarter
Software Engineer
Support
2 UXD
Collaborators
1 UX Designer
Main contributor
2 UI Engineers
1 from each market team
40%
80%
20%
+
+
Finding Strategic Openings
I adapted by embedding early system work into existing projects. While working with a vendor team and simultaneously supporting accessibility remediation, I used both efforts as opportunities to define and deliver reusable components. These parallel tracks allowed us to build real system value without waiting for formal resourcing.
I created system-based designs as guidance for a third-party team, which doubled as a starting point for the system.
Establishing the System
With those entry points, I led our team in defining, building, and applying the design system. I collaborated with UI engineers as they traced class variants. They flagged implementations for me to review to determine what to refactor or retire. We documented components as they were used, focusing first on those tied to in-progress work.
Component creation in Figma: I built out reusable components and tokens for color, spacing, and typography, designed to work across legacy and new systems.
Audit and component mapping: We reviewed legacy products and identified inconsistencies and high-use elements worth standardizing (e.g., card component).
Real product use: We applied the system directly to new prototypes and accessibility stories, reducing rework and validating the system in context (e.g., card component).
Reflection
Building a design system without a formal mandate meant starting small, solving real problems, and earning trust by showing impact. I focused on active projects, partnered with multiple teams, and built from what was already in motion.
This was a self-initiated effort I led from pitch to implementation. It brought structure to our design process, reduced duplicated work, and laid the groundwork for future scale. It also taught me the persuasive power of applying a system to ongoing work, so teams could see immediate value through use. These efforts built trust and made the system usable without waiting for topdown enforcement.
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© Sasha Meng 2025 All Rights Reserved
A Design System from Scratch
A self-initiated effort that built trust for UX
Time Frame
19 months from pitching to implementation (09/23 – ongoing)
Our Team
1 Project Lead (me) | 1 UX Designer | 1 UX Researcher | 2 Engineers
My Contribution
Problem analysis | Adoption strategy | Design |Documentation
Project Overview
In late 2024, I initiated and led the creation of a design system to bring clarity and consistency to my company Gale’s fragmented product ecosystem. I gained director approval for initiative, then innovatively executed alongside regular projects to establish design system across 20+ products.
By May 2025, the system was actively used across new prototypes and accessibility projects. It improved speed, reduced rework, made collaboration easier across UX and engineering, also accelerated contractor and vendor onboarding. It was planned to be implemented in 30-40 products across platforms.
Business Impact & User Impact
Estimated UX time saved annually
260+ hours
UX & Engineer time saved per UI story
1~3 hours
Adopted in new product prototypes
100%
The Problems
While building a product from scratch in 2022, I saw how the lack of a design system slowed design and delivery. As I worked across more teams and products, the scale of the issue became clearer.
- Component reuse was inconsistent and undocumented, leading to confusion, rework, and hesitation around updates.
- Design decisions relied on tribal knowledge, requiring frequent coordination to locate or understand existing elements.
- Legacy inconsistencies were widespread. For example, we conducted a heuristic review of our products, revealed 61+ card variants, which I estimated could be consolidated to under 50.
These issues led to delays and duplicate work. I decided to proactively lead a UX team effort to build a system that worked for our reality. We couldn’t adopt the parent company’s React based system due to our historical JSP tech stack.
Component updates blocking team progress
Gaining Buy-In
As the value of a design system became clear to the UX team, I needed buy-in and prioritization from leadership. I took the initiative to build a business case, grounded in real inefficiencies, time costs, and cross-team communication pain points.
Before presenting, I consulted with UI engineers and designers to understand constraints and build early support. Their input helped me propose realistic staffing scenarios that balanced system work with ongoing projects.
Leadership approved the concept, though without dedicated resourcing.
Estimated team commitment scenarios I proposed as part of the pitch, based on direct input from engineers and designers.
Full speed
2024 1st quarter
2 UI Engineers
1 from each market team
70%
3 UX Designers
1 from each market team
70%
Software Engineer
Support
Medium speed
2024 1st & 2nd quarter
Software Engineer
Support
2 UXD
Collaborators
1 UX Designer
Main contributor
2 UI Engineers
1 from each market team
40%
80%
20%
+
+
Finding Strategic Openings
I adapted by embedding early system work into existing projects. While working with a vendor team and simultaneously supporting accessibility remediation, I used both efforts as opportunities to define and deliver reusable components. These parallel tracks allowed us to build real system value without waiting for formal resourcing.
I created system-based designs as guidance for a third-party team, which doubled as a starting point for the system.
Establishing the System
With those entry points, I led our team in defining, building, and applying the design system. I collaborated with UI engineers as they traced class variants. They flagged implementations for me to review to determine what to refactor or retire. We documented components as they were used, focusing first on those tied to in-progress work.
Component creation in Figma: I built out reusable components and tokens for color, spacing, and typography, designed to work across legacy and new systems.
Audit and component mapping: We reviewed legacy products and identified inconsistencies and high-use elements worth standardizing (e.g., card component).
Real product use: We applied the system directly to new prototypes and accessibility stories, reducing rework and validating the system in context (e.g., card component).
Reflection
Building a design system without a formal mandate meant starting small, solving real problems, and earning trust by showing impact. I focused on active projects, partnered with multiple teams, and built from what was already in motion.
This was a self-initiated effort I led from pitch to implementation. It brought structure to our design process, reduced duplicated work, and laid the groundwork for future scale. It also taught me the persuasive power of applying a system to ongoing work, so teams could see immediate value through use. These efforts built trust and made the system usable without waiting for topdown enforcement.
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Explore
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Explore
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© Sasha Meng 2025 All Rights Reserved
A Design System from Scratch
A self-initiated effort that built trust for UX
Time Frame
19 months from pitching to implementation (09/23 – ongoing)
Our Team
1 Project Lead (me) | 1 UX Designer | 1 UX Researcher | 2 Engineers
My Contribution
Problem analysis | Adoption strategy | Design |Documentation
Project Overview
In late 2024, I initiated and led the creation of a design system to bring clarity and consistency to my company Gale’s fragmented product ecosystem. I gained director approval for initiative, then innovatively executed alongside regular projects to establish design system across 20+ products.
By May 2025, the system was actively used across new prototypes and accessibility projects. It improved speed, reduced rework, made collaboration easier across UX and engineering, also accelerated contractor and vendor onboarding. It was planned to be implemented in 30-40 products across platforms.
Business Impact & User Impact
Estimated UX time saved annually
260+ hours
UX & Engineer time saved per UI story
1~3 hours
Adopted in new product prototypes
100%
The Problems
While building a product from scratch in 2022, I saw how the lack of a design system slowed design and delivery. As I worked across more teams and products, the scale of the issue became clearer.
- Component reuse was inconsistent and undocumented, leading to confusion, rework, and hesitation around updates.
- Design decisions relied on tribal knowledge, requiring frequent coordination to locate or understand existing elements.
- Legacy inconsistencies were widespread. For example, we conducted a heuristic review of our products, revealed 61+ card variants, which I estimated could be consolidated to under 50.
These issues led to delays and duplicate work. I decided to proactively lead a UX team effort to build a system that worked for our reality. We couldn’t adopt the parent company’s React based system due to our historical JSP tech stack.
Component updates blocking team progress
Gaining Buy-In
As the value of a design system became clear to the UX team, I needed buy-in and prioritization from leadership. I took the initiative to build a business case, grounded in real inefficiencies, time costs, and cross-team communication pain points.
Before presenting, I consulted with UI engineers and designers to understand constraints and build early support. Their input helped me propose realistic staffing scenarios that balanced system work with ongoing projects.
Leadership approved the concept, though without dedicated resourcing.
Estimated team commitment scenarios I proposed as part of the pitch, based on direct input from engineers and designers.
Full speed
2024 1st quarter
2 UI Engineers
1 from each market team
70%
3 UX Designers
1 from each market team
70%
Software Engineer
Support
Medium speed
2024 1st & 2nd quarter
Software Engineer
Support
2 UXD
Collaborators
1 UX Designer
Main contributor
2 UI Engineers
1 from each market team
40%
80%
20%
+
+
Finding Strategic Openings
I adapted by embedding early system work into existing projects. While working with a vendor team and simultaneously supporting accessibility remediation, I used both efforts as opportunities to define and deliver reusable components. These parallel tracks allowed us to build real system value without waiting for formal resourcing.
I created system-based designs as guidance for a third-party team, which doubled as a starting point for the system.
Establishing the System
With those entry points, I led our team in defining, building, and applying the design system. I collaborated with UI engineers as they traced class variants. They flagged implementations for me to review to determine what to refactor or retire. We documented components as they were used, focusing first on those tied to in-progress work.
Component creation in Figma: I built out reusable components and tokens for color, spacing, and typography, designed to work across legacy and new systems.
Audit and component mapping: We reviewed legacy products and identified inconsistencies and high-use elements worth standardizing (e.g., card component).
Real product use: We applied the system directly to new prototypes and accessibility stories, reducing rework and validating the system in context (e.g., card component).
Reflection
Building a design system without a formal mandate meant starting small, solving real problems, and earning trust by showing impact. I focused on active projects, partnered with multiple teams, and built from what was already in motion.
This was a self-initiated effort I led from pitch to implementation. It brought structure to our design process, reduced duplicated work, and laid the groundwork for future scale. It also taught me the persuasive power of applying a system to ongoing work, so teams could see immediate value through use. These efforts built trust and made the system usable without waiting for topdown enforcement.
More projects
UX Design
A Design System from Scratch
Explore
UX Design
B2B Folder Enhancement
Explore
UX Design
Online Learning Portal
Explore
UX Design
E-commerce Websites Migration
Explore
UX Design
Dashboard and Progress Management
Coming Soon
UX Design
New Product on a Mature Platform
Explore
© Sasha Meng 2025 All Rights Reserved