DESIGN SYSTEMS · 2020-2025

The systems behind five years of products.

ROLE
ROLE

Design system lead

Design system lead

EXPERTISE
EXPERTISE

Design system - Figma

Design system - Figma

YEARs
YEARs

2020 - 2025

2020 - 2025

Project description

Project description

The challenge

Multiple platforms grew over the years with their own conventions, creating visual inconsistencies and slowing development. The teams needed a shared visual language, flexible enough to respect the specifics of each platform.

MY ROLE

Built and maintained two design systems (mobile and web), defined the architecture that lets them share foundations while staying platform-specific, and documented patterns for the development teams.

tIMELINE

Continuous evolution from 2020 to 2025, with major version updates aligned to product roadmaps. The systems matured alongside the products that consume them.

The Approach

The Approach

Building a design system isn't about replicating Material Design or starting from scratch. It's about making the right decisions for the team, the product, and the platforms they live on.

Building a design system isn't about replicating Material Design or starting from scratch. It's about making the right decisions for the team, the product, and the platforms they live on.

1

Material as a base, not a ceiling

Started from Material Design 3 for development feasibility and engineering familiarity, then extended where identity and product needs required custom solutions.

2

One system per platform

Mobile and web have different needs: touch vs mouse, screen real estate, interaction patterns. Two libraries that share foundations but specialize where it matters.

3

Libraries are products too

Treated each library as a product with users (designers and developers). Documented decisions, versioned changes, stayed accountable for what the teams shipped.

From tokens to components to architecture.

From tokens to components to architecture.

A look at how the systems are organized, what they contain, and how they connect.

A look at how the systems are organized, what they contain, and how they connect.

01 • Foundations · Design tokens

The atomic decisions every screen inherits from: colors, typography, spacing, elevation, radius. The vocabulary every designer and developer speaks before reaching for any component.

MY CONTRIBUTION

Defined the token architecture from scratch: a Material-aligned palette extended with Tierra-specific semantic colors, a complete type scale, and a coherent spacing/elevation/radius system. Tokens are organized to be both designer-friendly (semantic names like Primary/KIS) and developer-friendly (mappable to Flutter and CSS variables).

02 • Mobile components

The component library that powers Blend+ and other Tierra mobile apps. Built on Material Design 3, extended with Tierra-specific patterns for fleet and telematics contexts.

MY CONTRIBUTION

Designed the complete mobile component library from foundations to documented Figma variants. Built each component with multiple properties (size, color, state, icon support) to give designers and developers maximum flexibility without rebuilding patterns. Worked closely with the Flutter team to ensure Figma variants matched implementable widget props.

03 • Web components

Data-dense patterns built for desktop workflows. Where the mobile system optimizes for touch and one-handed use, the web system optimizes for information density and parallel tasks.

MY CONTRIBUTION

Adapted the foundations from the shared design system to web-specific patterns. Designed data tables with sortable columns and inline actions, filter systems for high-cardinality datasets, and the side panel + content layout that became Gazelle's signature navigation pattern. Documented when to use each pattern based on data density and user task.

04 • Iconography · Separate library, multiple style

Icons live in a dedicated library, consumed by both mobile and web systems. Built on Material's icon set, extended with custom icons for Tierra-specific concepts.

MY CONTRIBUTION

Set up the dedicated icon library separated from component libraries, so it could be consumed by both web and mobile. Established the five style variants for visual flexibility (Filled, Outlined, Round, Sharp, Two Tone) and extended Material's set with custom icons for Tierra-specific concepts like fleet states, vehicle types, and telematics signals.

05 • System architecture · Multi-file structure

How decisions flow from shared foundations to platform libraries to product implementations. The diagram that explains why 3 design systems for 5 products.

MY CONTRIBUTION

Designed the multi-file architecture that lets foundations stay shared while libraries can specialize per platform. Each file has a clear role and consumes only what it needs, so changes propagate predictably. This structure is what made it possible to maintain two design systems and serve five product teams without conflicts.

Results

Results

Five years of incremental work, measurable in components, teams served, and consistency gained.

Five years of incremental work, measurable in components, teams served, and consistency gained.

120 +

Components across mobile and web libraries

5

Product files consuming the systems

3

Development teams aligned on shared patterns

5 yrs

Continuous evolution, no full rewrites

120 +

Components across mobile and web libraries

3

Development teams aligned on shared patterns

5

Product files consuming the systems

5 yrs

Continuous evolution, no full rewrites

Key takeaways

A design system isn't measured by how many components it has, but by how many decisions designers don't have to make twice.

A design system isn't measured by how many components it has, but by how many decisions designers don't have to make twice.

Next project

Next project

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