Unified Design System
Bringing disconnected internal tools together through a shared design system, standardizing components, patterns, forms, and typography to create a more consistent, usable experience across the content tooling ecosystem.
- Role
- Design Program Manager
- Team
- Content Metadata and Tooling Design + Design Engineering
- Year
- 2026
The assignment
I was assigned to the Content Metadata and Tooling Design team, which had no dedicated program manager, to help bring its ways of working into alignment with the broader organization.
The team supported a complex ecosystem of internal tools used across content operations. My focus was to establish the structure, workflows, and cross functional partnerships needed to improve consistency, strengthen collaboration, and help the team operate more effectively.
The challenge
As the tooling ecosystem grew, individual platforms developed their own interface patterns, components, forms, and conventions. Content editors and operators encountered inconsistent experiences when moving between tools to complete interconnected workflows.
The team needed a more cohesive approach to design, one that could improve usability across platforms while giving Design, Product, and Engineering a shared foundation for building and maintaining internal tools.
The approach
I rallied the Content Metadata and Tooling Design team around a unified design system, coordinating with Design Engineering, Product, and technical partners to establish shared practices across the ecosystem.
My work focused on three priorities:
- 01. Understand the ecosystem
- Mapped the relationships between tools, teams, and workflows across Merchandising, Editorialisation, and Monitoring to establish a clearer view of the broader tooling landscape.
- 02. Standardize how work moves
- Implemented a more structured intake and delivery workflow, clarifying ownership from Product Manager requests through Design allocation and strengthening handoffs between Design and Engineering.
- 03. Establish a shared design foundation
- Aligned the team around consistent design patterns, reusable components, typography, and governance practices. Partnered with Design Engineering to establish contribution processes and interaction guidelines that support consistency across tools.
What changed
- A shared design direction
- Aligned Metadata, Image Management, and Curation around a common UX framework rather than treating each tool as an isolated experience.
- More consistent design decisions
- Established shared component contribution rules and interaction guardrails to guide how teams extend existing patterns and introduce new capabilities.
- Clearer ownership and delivery
- Implemented a more consistent workflow for intake, prioritization, design allocation, and Engineering handoffs, improving visibility and cross functional coordination.
The impact
The work established a more connected operating model for Content Metadata and Tooling Design, bringing its workflows and design practices into closer alignment with the broader organization.
By connecting the people, processes, and design foundations behind the tooling ecosystem, we created a more consistent experience across internal tools and a stronger foundation for ongoing product development and future growth.