SaaS Design System

Project Details

Role: Lead Visual Designer

Date: 2018

Context

Creation of a friendly design system made with event planners in mind. It's all about combining an appealing, easy-on-the-eyes style with the needs of tech tools, resulting in a design that's both practical and enjoyable to use.

In 2018 and 2019, I found myself in the midst of a dynamic team of UX designers, tasked with an exciting challenge: to develop a fresh visual identity and brand for a new design system. This was during a time when the tech and SaaS industries were abuzz with companies creating their own design systems. Being a part of this trend was not only a fortunate position to be in but an opportunity to shape the landscape of our product offerings.

One of the critical challenges we faced was the diverse nature of our primary user base: event planners. With a product ecosystem that ranged from legacy tools built in 1999 to fresh, React-based applications, we had to ensure our design system could seamlessly integrate across all these platforms. The aim wasn't just to make the tools more user-friendly; it was to create a timeless design system that would endure the years it would take to fully implement across our product range.

Design system illustration style, mimicking the experience of events

The cornerstone of our design approach was a deep understanding of our users. The majority were female event planners, a detail that informed every aspect of our design strategy. Interviews with these users revealed they desired a system that was appealing and unimposing—something they'd enjoy using and wouldn't shy away from during the long hours leading up to their events.

Taking this insight to heart, we adopted a gentle design aesthetic with soft colors, subtle shadows, and minimal layering principles. The color scheme resonated with the tech industry standards while adding a dash of vitality through vibrant illustrations. This design system became the foundation for all event tools built within the platform henceforth. It wasn't just a design overhaul; it was a transformation that made the user experience a focal point of our product strategy.