Creating a shared experience across a growing organization
An international mobility company was operating an expanding collection of websites, mobile experiences, and internal tools.
Different teams were moving quickly and solving their own problems. Over time, this produced visible inconsistencies. Familiar actions could look or behave differently depending on which part of the service someone was using.
A shared design system was being developed to bring these experiences together. But creating the system was only half the challenge. It would produce no meaningful improvement unless people chose to use it.
Understanding why teams were hesitant
Designers, developers, and managers worked under different pressures. Some were unaware of what the system offered. Others worried it would slow them down, restrict their choices, or fail to support the needs of their product.
We treated these internal teams as users rather than simply expecting them to follow a new standard. Through interviews and surveys, we learned what different teams needed, where they encountered difficulty, and how they perceived the system.
The findings influenced not only what the system contained, but also how it was introduced, supported, and developed across the organization.
Making the system useful in real situations
We designed and tested reusable elements for use across different products, devices, and markets.
A seemingly simple element such as choosing a time had to work for travellers accustomed to different time formats and using different devices. We explored several approaches and tested them with people in Europe and North America before creating guidance for the teams implementing them.
We also introduced onboarding sessions, collaborative workshops, and regular opportunities for feedback. Upcoming improvements were made visible, and people who contributed to the system were recognised.
Instead of presenting the system as a finished collection of rules, we helped establish it as a shared product that teams could use, question, and improve.
What changed
As adoption increased, customer-facing and internal products began to feel more visibly connected to the company’s brand. Teams gained a reliable starting point for new work, reducing the need to repeatedly solve familiar interface problems.
We helped the organization measure adoption, contributions, and requests for new elements. Leadership eventually considered making the system an organization-wide standard. The shared foundation also made it easier to create visual themes for recently acquired brands without losing the identity of the main service.
Consistency built through participation
The lasting value came from making the system useful to the people responsible for applying it. Our work:
- Identified the practical and organizational barriers preventing adoption
- Created reusable experiences that could work across products, devices, and markets
- Gave teams clearer guidance and a more reliable starting point
- Built participation through onboarding, workshops, and regular feedback
- Introduced ways to measure adoption and guide future improvements
Consistency was no longer something imposed after products were created. It became part of how teams designed, built, and improved them.