DESIGN SYSTEMS / PRACTICE & ADOPTION
Building a design system teams could own and use
I helped an Australian lottery operator connect design and engineering through shared foundations, practical tooling and a model for contribution and adoption.
- Client
- Australian lottery operator
- Role
- Design system strategy and delivery
- Type
- Design systems and organisational change
The challenge was to establish a design system that teams would contribute to and use in their everyday work. That meant building a shared language between design and engineering, alongside the support and ways of working needed to sustain it.
Building support
I introduced the concept and value of design systems to leadership, worked closely with key team members and identified champions who could carry the change beyond the initial build. Without a dedicated budget to take the work into implementation, I brought contributors together across multiple teams to help make it happen.
Building shared foundations
I helped define the system architecture, introduce design tokens and align naming conventions. We used Style Dictionary pipelines to make the foundations available across platforms. I also built Claude Code skills to support consistent development of the system and help new teams implement it.
Making adoption part of delivery
We built the system alongside live projects, introducing governance and workflows for contribution and adoption as we went. Teams began using the shared system in delivery. Developers, including some who had initially questioned the approach, told us it helped them deliver projects they otherwise would not have completed on time.