A design system aimed to boost efficiency, improve consistency and support a growing suite of financial tools.
As we we wrapping up our last major project, I saw an opportunity to use the slower period to consolidate styles and patterns into a design system. My goal was to boost efficiency, improve consistency and set us up for success for whatever came next.
Fathom already had a design system in place, but its full potential was never realised. Despite the solid work behind it, it saw little adoption from both the design and front-end teams. After investing heavily in UI consistency through recent design QA, I saw an opportunity to formalise that work into a more robust system. With the front-end team preparing for a platform rewrite, it was the perfect time to align efforts, improve collaboration, and establish a shared design language across teams.
Defined what success looked like by running a “hopes and fears” workshop and maintaining close collaboration with designers and developers throughout the process.
Co-created a shared identity for the design system, including its name, logo, and visual language — something the team could rally around.
Established a lightweight governance model that considered resource constraints, encouraged shared ownership, and supported async collaboration.
Maintained alignment between Figma and front-end through weekly catch-ups with designers and engineers.
Audited product UI and built scalable, maintainable components grounded in real usage and needs.
Created a reference site and Figma prototype to centralise resources and make the system more accessible to everyone.
Upskilled the team by sharing resources, running demos, and creating opportunities for others to engage with the system.
Mobile app designed to empower people to live happier and healthier lives through meal prep.
Business planning meets powerfully simple three-way cash flow forecasting.
