When I joined the company in 2020, the solar industry was booming and still very much is today. The company wanted to reposition themselves from a one-time solar installer to a full-serviced solar experience. The visual identity had previously symbolised a green eco-friendly aesthetic, and the new direction deserved a much bolder and innovative identity. With the help of an agency, a rebrand was formed. The core building blocks were delivered in the shape of a Brand Book. It served as a high-level strategy for the company's brand. It was then my job to use this as a blueprint to create an in-depth Design System that could be applied to our websites and our app.
The process of creating the Design System, while seemingly straightforward, turned out to be a complex interplay of scope creeping, feedback loops, and managing expectations from leadership. I learned early on that I had to start small and work in iterations.
I made a UI audit of inventory by gathering existing buttons, typography, colors etc. across products. I then conducted a competitor analysis to learn how similar companies approached consistency. I built out the core reusable components and made sure to have tight feedback loops with the developers to ensure feasibility. Each component was gradually rolled out into Storybook, depending on what was highest priority at the time. Throughout these iterations, I could learn a lot through testing what variants were needed and how they could be improved. I also learned the importance of establishing governance, and how to keep it useful, usable, and evolving.
The result was a living breathing Design System that through time was a game-changer for us. It brought clarity, consistency, and speed to our workflow, and made collaboration between products much smoother. What started as a small ambiguous project evolved into a shared foundation that now supports everything we build. It took time upfront, but the long-term payoff has been worth it.
