Overview
Challenge
Discovery
Solution
Insight

Design System Foundation

Gap Inc.

Gap Inc. operates one e-commerce platform to support 4 brand sites — Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic and Athleta.

I helped build the foundation for a unified design system to provide shared functionality and custom interfaces across all brands.

Case

The Challenge

  • Inconsistent User Experience
    ‍    Each brand has its own identity and constraints
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  • Complexity in Managing Design Assets
    ‍    Handling multiple design systems, brand guidelines, and assets can become cumbersome, especially when trying to ensure updates and changes are applied uniformly.
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  • Navigational and Information Architecture Issues
    ‍    Structuring navigation and information flow to cater to diverse user needs across brands without compromising usability can be challenging.
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  • Scalability and Flexibility
    ‍    Ensuring that the design system can scale as new features or products are introduced while maintaining flexibility to adapt to evolving market trends and user preferences.

My Role

As Lead UX/UI Designer, I led research and feature design across key touch points in the product detail page and browsing catalog.

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Solution

  • Unified Design System
    ‍    Implement a unified design system to help consolidate design elements, patterns, and components that can be shared across brands while allowing for customization where necessary. This ensures consistency in user experience while respecting brand individuality.
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  • Modular Design Approach
    ‍    Adopt a modular approach to design for components and patterns to be reused across different brands. This reduces redundancy, streamlines updates, and ensures that changes are propagated consistently across all products.
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  • Clear Design Governance
    ‍    Establish clear design governance ensures that decisions related to design updates, adaptations, and new additions are made collaboratively and align with overarching business goals and brand strategies.
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  • User Research and Testing
    ‍    Conduct user research and testing across different brands to understand diverse user needs and preferences. Insights gained from research inform design decisions to various user segments.
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  • Iterative Improvement
    ‍    Continuously iterate based on user feedback and analytics data to refine the design system over time. This iterative process ensures that the design remains relevant, user-friendly, and aligned with evolving business objectives.

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Outcomes

  • Consistency
    A unified design system ensures a consistent look and feel across all brands, enhancing brand recognition and trust among users.
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  • Efficiency
    Streamlining design processes and asset management reduces duplication efforts and speeds up time-to-market for new products or updates.
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  • Scalability
    Scalable design systems accommodate growth and diversification within the company, supporting new brand launches and product expansions seamlessly.
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  • Improved User Satisfaction
    By addressing diverse user needs effectively and providing a cohesive user experience, companies can improve user satisfaction and engagement with their products.
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In summary, tackling UX and product design challenges in multi-brand environments requires a strategic approach that balances consistency with flexibility, leveraging a unified design system and iterative improvements based on user-centric insights. This approach not only resolves our design issues but also adds long-term value by enhancing brand coherence and user experience across the board.

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