Design Ops!

Summary

I help design teams by creating tools and processes to maximize their creative potential. My work encompasses a wide range of activities — from developing and scaling comprehensive design systems to finding effective methods for remote collaboration. I get involved wherever I can have the most impact — in some cases that means championing design in the board room, in others that means coding fun little tools. I’m your friend in design.

Having worked across a variety of creative environments — from two-person startups to multinational corporations — I understand that the best tools are ones that are tailored to fit their unique context. There’s no universal solution or “correct” process. With this mindset, I”ve build a range of tools customized to meet the diverse needs of the teams I’ve collaborated with. Here are a few examples…

HSDS Direct link

As Principal Designer at Help Scout, I collaborated closely with a small group of front-end engineers to create the ’Help Scout Design System‘ (HSDS). Over six years, HSDS evolved through three major versions, each grounded in the principle that change is inevitable and the system must adapt to the team’s shifting needs.

🥽 Built for flexibility. Unlike larger, rigid design systems, HSDS was designed to be flexible enough to encourage variation, deviation, and creativity. This adaptability extended from how components were structured to the code that powered them—allowing the system to bend when unique solutions were required.

👯‍♀️ Shared ownership. With a small team, HSDS thrived on being a collective effort, maintained by the very people who used it. This joint ownership fostered contributions from diverse perspectives over the years, empowering team members to voice their insights without fear.

🧰 Code is truth. We recognized that code, not design files, is the closest connection to the user experience. By making code the definitive source of truth, we ensured that designs remained aligned with what was technically achievable, enhancing consistency and real-world applicability.

I discovered that the most impactful documentation was at the component level. Each of the 200+ components featured comprehensive usage guidelines, relevant links, and practical examples, making it easier for the team to work effectively and confidently without much oversight.

Watch: Creating HSDS

I gave a talk at a Design Ops event about how I created HSDS and elaborated on the principals above and detailed specific tactics.

Buildkite Direct link

As the Head of Design at Buildkite, I developed BKUI — a comprehensive design toolkit that laid the foundation for a scalable design system. Accompanied by extensive documentation and supporting tools, BKUI empowered designers, engineers, and product managers to maintain hyper-consistency in style and execution while operating at scale. I collaborated closely with front-end teams to bring this system to production code, enabling rapid development while upholding quality, creativity, and maintainability.

In Buildkite’s engineering-first, fully-remove environment — robust documentation was essential for success. Since components were often used straight out of the box with minimal customization, the system was geared toward correct usage, ensuring that engineers could adopt components seamlessly without needing designer involvement.

BKUI allowed my small design team and I to iteratively enhance our entire product suite from a centralized source, minimizing risk while maximizing creativity, efficiency and cross-team collaboration.

See the case study

Resources Direct link

Helping designers achieve their best work is my true passion and the core of my coaching business. Driven by this mission, I’ve written numerous articles, spoken at conferences, created community resources, and coded tools that support the creative process. Here are a few standout highlights:

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