Optus - Design System
Optus had engaged AKQA to deliver a website redesign. My role was to maintain and manage the design system in Sketch. I worked closely with developers and producers to ensure the new designs were approved, adhered to the style guide and could be built using the new component library.
Methodology
We worked with Optus stakeholders to determine the content for each page and created a wireframe using the new components. These components each had a unique number to identify them in the design system and help the front end developers to build the final design. Once the wireframes were approved we would move to the UI design phase.
The Design System
The UI phase was the fastest to implement due to the thorough design system. Optus had extensive image and product libraries for us to work with and the approved wireframes simple needed to be matched up with the final UI components. The design system was built in Sketch and shared across several design teams. Our team created new components as required and had these approved by Optus design leads. These components would be assigned a name and number then be distributed via the master file.
Design QA
One of the challenges of the role was working with internal and external development agencies. I’d have to create documentation to clearly explain grid layouts and typography to ensure what was being built met our approved design files.
Delivery
This project was a large learning curve for me as I’d never worked on website redesign of this scale and with such a complex design system. I invested my time to really learn Sketch and understand how to best handover to the developers and communicate with other designers on the project.
