Design Systems
Design systems are a crucial key to efficiency in building products as well as maintaining consistency across products. I have led teams in delivering substantial work in this area, both at Spiceworks and at Realtor.com. This case study will focus on RDC specifically, as that effort was much more comprehensive and challenging, with an incredible scope of work.
When I stepped into the executive role overseeing design at Realtor.com, one of the most urgent structural challenges wasn’t a single feature — it was the foundation beneath every feature: a fragmented, inconsistent, multi-platform design system that slowed teams down, created unnecessary decision-making, and held back both quality and velocity.
My responsibility was to set the strategic direction, secure cross-functional alignment, and ensure my design, research, systems, and engineering partners had what they needed to rebuild a unified system capable of supporting a 75M+ monthly-user platform.
This was not a component library refresh — it was a complete operating-system overhaul for the entire product organization.
company
Realtor.com and Spiceworks
focus
Design Systems
Information Architecture
The problem
Realtor.com’s products were built on fragmented patterns and ad-hoc components across iOS, Android, and web. This created design and engineering inefficiencies, inconsistent user experiences, accessibility gaps, and meaningful revenue losses due to slower development cycles.
350+ divergent components across teams
No shared token architecture
Inconsistent visual hierarchy & accessibility issues
High design/development duplication
Slow deployment velocity and elevated design debt
Teams spending ~60% of time recreating basics instead of solving problems
what we did
I guided the strategy and alignment; my design systems, platform, and product teams executed a multi-phase rebuild across 14 months.
1. Unified Component Library
Consolidated hundreds of components into a single governed system
Standardized states, variants, and interaction patterns
Established accessibility and quality standards
2. Cross-Platform Token Architecture
Typography, spacing, color, motion, elevation
Shared design → engineering naming, contracts, and parity
Tokens implemented across all platforms
3. Brand & Visual Modernization
Refreshed the visual language
Harmonized hierarchy, spacing, and color scales
Enabled more consistent, confident consumer experiences
4. Governance & Documentation
Contribution model for new components
System-wide usage guidelines
Engineering parity documentation, code samples, and release processes
Weekly cross-functional support and alignment
Outcomes
The redesigned system transformed velocity, quality, and consistency across the org — and produced immediate financial value.
Business & Operational Impact
Several hundred thousand dollars/month saved due to faster dev cycles
~70% faster time to deploy new features
Teams reclaimed ~60% of their time to focus on high-impact product work
Significant reduction in design and code duplication
Accessibility and brand consistency dramatically improved
Organizational Impact
A single source of truth for design + engineering
Stronger alignment between product, design, and engineering
A scalable foundation for AI-first experiences and future platform growth
