Unifying a platform through a scalable design system
I contributed to building and maintaining the Bigtincan Design System, a key initiative to unify a suite of web-based products with inconsistent UI/UX standards. Our goal was to create a cohesive design language that would be usable across Angular and React frameworks, ensuring accessibility and consistency.
Design team:
Katie Schmitt, Lead Designer
Drew Mitstifer, Program Manager
Chris Keramidas, Designer
Adriana Gunczler, Designer
Challenges
Bigtincan’s product ecosystem was diverse, requiring a design system that could support products built in both Angular and React, while meeting strict WCAG AA accessibility standards.
The tricky part? We had no dedicated developers for the design system. This meant that everything we designed had to be intuitive for developers to implement when needed, without extensive custom work, and flexible enough to accommodate future needs — often features we hadn’t even planned for yet.
Process
When I joined the team, much of the foundational work—like typography and color tokens—was already in place. My focus was on designing core components that internal teams would use to build new features, with a balance of flexibility and consistency.
One key area was the navigation components. These needed to scale across different products and product hierarchies, yet remain user-friendly for both designers and end users. I also worked on building flexible menus, loading states, and layout templates—components that allowed for quick iterations while maintaining visual cohesion.
Components were built with flexibility in mind across mobile and desktop layouts on web and native applications. Some component instances, such as dialogs and menus, have bespoke variants for mobile and desktop layouts.
In addition to components, I led the creation of content guidelines. These guidelines ensured that in-product messaging was clear and aligned with the overall design system, helping designers and developers maintain consistency in tone and communication.
Impact and reflection
The Bigtincan Design System resulted in:
- 35% increase in design productivity 1
- 30% increase in development productivity 1
- $336,000 in annual savings through increased productivity 2
Juggling the design of a scalable system without dedicated developers forced me to focus on simplicity and flexibility. By creating tools that were easy for internal teams to implement, we ensured that the system could grow with the platform, even under tight constraints. This project reinforced the importance of balancing short-term needs with long-term scalability in design systems.
1 Productivity gains are based on survey information from individual designers and developers at Bigtincan and actual completion time for Jira tickets. This information is checked against general industry findings.
2 Savings are based on average salary of team members and estimated productivity gain for each respective team. Savings also factor in resource and infrastructure cost of the Design System.