A design system for 80 contributors that had to scale and stick
Volkswagen
2025
Overview
Approach
Adoption over authority: making standards stick without forcing them
I set up weekly design system syncs and built feedback channels directly into Figma. Intake forms replaced ad-hoc Slack requests. Blockers surfaced to leadership through structured loops instead of getting lost in threads.
The result: DesignOps went from a back-office function to something teams actively used.
Systemizing Decisions with design token infrastructure
I built a token system covering color, typography, spacing, and elevation, all mapped to VW brand guidelines. Each value went from raw hex to semantic name to usage token, so teams could apply consistent styles without memorizing values.
Component documentation
I refactored 500+ components with token variants, auto-layout, and accessibility states. Each component got structured docs: purpose, anatomy, states, usage guidelines. Teams adopted new versions on their own timeline, no forced migration.
Outcome
Key results
Less inconsistency across the ecosystem: tokens replaced hardcoded values across 500+ components, reducing duplicated effort between teams
Shorter design-to-code cycles: developers pulled token values directly from the system instead of interpreting specs
Higher DS adoption, measured by fewer detached or custom-made components across regional projects
Faster onboarding: structured documentation and intake forms reduced unmonitored requests from new contributors
Cross-functional syncs aligned leaders with different priorities on shared decisions, surfacing blockers earlier
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