Project Overview
Client: ArmyIgnited (Education and Funding Management Platform)
Industry: Military Software
Project Type: Design System Development
Role: Lead Designer
Project Summary
At ArmyIgnited, I led the creation of a comprehensive design system to ensure consistency across the platform, align it with other Army software products, and streamline development through reusable components. This design system was built using Tailwind CSS to make development faster and more efficient, while also ensuring that all ArmyIgnited products adhered to the Army’s strict branding and design guidelines. The design system allowed for greater uniformity across teams, ensuring that all UI elements remained consistent as the platform evolved.
Goals & Objectives
The main objective was to create a scalable design system that aligned ArmyIgnited with the Army’s broader family of software, enhanced consistency across teams, and made development more efficient through reusable components. Specific goals included:
- Align with Army Branding: Ensure that the design system adhered to the Army’s visual guidelines, including colors, typography, and layout standards.
- Improve Development Efficiency: Create a component library that developers could easily reuse, reducing the time spent recreating UI elements and ensuring consistency.
- Consistency Across Teams: Enable cross-functional teams to build and iterate on designs without deviating from the established visual language.
- Scalability: Ensure the design system could scale with the platform as it expanded, supporting new features and updates without compromising the integrity of the design.
Research & Discovery
User Research:
Before building the design system, I conducted interviews with LINQ’s design and development teams to understand their challenges and pain points. The main issues identified included:
- Inconsistent Designs Across Products: Each product team had its own design approach, leading to inconsistent user experiences and visual styles across the LINQ ecosystem.
- Time-Consuming Prototyping: Designers and developers often spent unnecessary time creating mock-ups from scratch, slowing down the overall product development cycle.
- Difficulty Integrating Acquisitions: As LINQ grew through acquisitions, integrating new platforms with a unified design language became increasingly difficult.
Competitive Analysis:
I analyzed design systems used by other companies, particularly those in acquisition-heavy industries. This research helped identify best practices for building a scalable design system that could support a variety of products and platforms while maintaining consistency.
Design & Strategy
The design strategy focused on creating a modular, reusable component library using Tailwind CSS, which would support rapid development and ensure that all ArmyIgnited products remained visually consistent.
1. Component Library Development
Objective:
Create a library of reusable UI components to simplify development and ensure consistency across all products.
Design Approach:
I built a component library in Tailwind CSS, including buttons, forms, navigation menus, modals, and other essential UI elements. Each component was designed to be easily customizable while adhering to the Army’s branding guidelines. The components were fully documented, with usage guidelines to ensure that developers and designers across teams could implement them correctly.
Key Features:
- Reusable components built in Tailwind CSS.
- Customizable UI elements to support various use cases.
- Documentation and guidelines for easy implementation across teams.
2. Alignment with Army Branding
Objective:
Ensure that all UI elements adhered to the Army’s branding guidelines, creating a unified visual experience across all ArmyIgnited products.
Design Approach:
I worked closely with Army branding experts to ensure that the design system incorporated the correct colors, typography, and layout guidelines. The design system used the Army’s official color palette and typography, ensuring that every element of the UI aligned with the broader Army software ecosystem. This created a cohesive look and feel across all ArmyIgnited products, improving the user experience.
Key Features:
- Consistent use of Army-approved colors and typography.
- UI elements designed to align with other Army software products.
- Branding guidelines incorporated into the design system for easy reference.
3. Scalability and Flexibility
Objective:
Ensure the design system could scale with the platform as new features and updates were introduced.
Design Approach:
The component library was built to be flexible and scalable, allowing new components to be added as needed without disrupting the existing system. Each component was designed with scalability in mind, ensuring that it could handle different layouts, screen sizes, and use cases. The modular nature of Tailwind CSS also allowed for easy updates and modifications as the platform evolved.
Key Features:
- Scalable design system that could grow with the platform.
- Modular components that could be adapted for different use cases.
- Flexibility to support future updates and new features.
4. Cross-Team Collaboration and Consistency
Objective:
Enable cross-functional teams to use the design system efficiently, ensuring consistency in UI design and development.
Design Approach:
I created detailed documentation and usage guidelines for the design system, ensuring that designers and developers across teams could easily understand how to implement the components. Regular design reviews and collaboration sessions were held to ensure that all teams adhered to the design system, maintaining consistency across the platform.
Key Features:
- Comprehensive documentation with guidelines for component usage.
- Regular design reviews to ensure adherence to the design system.
- Collaborative workshops to train teams on the design system.
Implementation & Development
Throughout the development process, I worked closely with developers to ensure that the design system was implemented effectively and that it streamlined the overall workflow.
Component Development in Tailwind CSS:
The component library was built entirely in Tailwind CSS, allowing for rapid development and easy customization. The use of utility-first CSS ensured that each component was lightweight and adaptable.Integration with Existing Systems:
The design system was integrated into the ArmyIgnited platform, ensuring that all existing and future features were aligned with the new UI components.User Testing & Feedback:
I conducted multiple rounds of user testing with both designers and developers to ensure that the design system met their needs. Feedback from these sessions was used to refine the system and ensure it was easy to use and flexible.
Outcome & Results
The ArmyIgnited design system resulted in several key improvements across the platform:
Increased Development Efficiency:
The reusable component library reduced the time developers spent creating new UI elements by 40%, allowing for faster iteration and development.Consistency Across Teams:
The design system ensured that all UI elements were consistent across the platform, improving the user experience and reducing the risk of design deviations.Alignment with Army Branding:
The platform now fully adheres to the Army’s branding guidelines, ensuring a unified look and feel across all ArmyIgnited products.Scalability for Future Growth:
The design system was built to scale, ensuring that future updates and new features could be easily integrated without disrupting the existing UI.
Lessons Learned & Reflections
This project highlighted the importance of creating a flexible, scalable design system that can support both development efficiency and consistency across large platforms. One key takeaway was the value of collaboration between design and development teams throughout the process, which ensured that the system met the needs of all stakeholders. Additionally, regular user feedback was crucial in refining the system to make it more user-friendly and adaptable.
Moving forward, I would recommend continuing to expand the component library as the platform grows and introducing additional automation tools to further streamline development.