The Challenge
When I started working at Unum, the term design had little to no meaning. There were no shared tools and no design systems, causing designers to be siloed across different teams. The result of this was inconsistent user interfaces, slow design iterations, and expensive engineering reworks.
Rework was expensive, engineering was slow, and accessible design was done to meet the minimum requirements, with little to no consideration at the senior levels. When making incremental improvements, I had to continually justify the value of design.
My Role
Working across three levels at once: hands-on design, building the systems to make design scale, and earning the credibility to influence how the organisation valued design.
I founded the design system, established the DesignOps operating model, and created the Triple Diamond Design Process to give teams a shared way of working. Accessibility moved from an afterthought to a core principle, embedded at component level and maintained through coaching and review.
The Outcome
The design system was adopted across three product squads, bringing consistency to UI across the organisation for the first time. Stakeholders noticed, the quality bar had visibly risen and digital products became something the business was proud of.
Accessibility compliance reached and maintained a 98% Siteimprove score. Delivery friction reduced significantly as clearer standards meant less rework for engineers.
Design went from fighting for its seat at the table to being trusted, visible and valued.
