Canadian web design and development

Algonquin College Design System

Spearheaded organizational design transformation by introducing Figma-based design system, increasing prototyping speed, and driving team-wide tool adoption.

Project Context

Role: UI Designer & Change Champion
Duration: 2024-2025
Team Size: 6 members
Challenge: Organization did not have web-specific design systems in place despite strong brand guidelines.

Impact & Results

  • Increased design and prototyping speed across web projects.
  • Successfully trained and onboarded lead designer on design system maintenance.
  • Built 25 reusable Figma components to be used for rapid prototyping.
  • Achieved stakeholder buy-in in convincing organization to invest in design system tools.

Technical Implementation

Design Token Architecture

  • Developed comprehensive primitive and semantic variable system.
  • Standardized color, typography, spacing, and sizing tokens.
  • Created scalable foundation for consistent brand application.

Functional Prototyping

  • Developed interactive prototypes for user flow and design validation.
  • Enabled stakeholder testing before code implementation.

Strategic Approach

Change Management

  • Built proof of concept to demonstrate value before requesting investment.
  • Overcame team comfort zones by showing tangible efficiency gains.
  • Navigated contractor constraints to influence permanent staff decisions.
  • Secured organizational buy-in through measurable results demonstration.

Knowledge Transfer

  • Trained lead designer on system maintenance and governance.
  • Created documentation for sustainable system evolution.
  • Established best practices for ongoing component development.

Tools & Technologies

  • Figma (Advanced features: Components, Variants, Auto Layout, Variables)
  • Design Systems Methodology
  • WCAG 2.1 (Accessibility compliance)
  • Cross-functional Collaboration

Key Learnings & Outcomes

For the Organization:

  • Streamlined design-to-development handoff process
  • Improved brand consistency across all digital touchpoints
  • Reduced prototype development time and iteration cycles
  • Built foundation for scalable design operations

Personal Growth:

  • Demonstrated ability to drive organizational change as an external contractor
  • Developed expertise in enterprise-level design system architecture
  • Strengthened skills in stakeholder management and change advocacy

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