Making order in a giant design system

Making order in a giant design system

UX/UI portfolio case study by Kseniia Bator

Big products are like big families: everyone adds just one little thing and in the end you have a zoo. Buttons here, switches there, text sizes all over the place. Users get confused, teams move slower, developers cry quietly in the corner (true story).
I had to bring order, make logic clear, and give both users and team a system they can trust.

Big products are like big families: everyone adds just one little thing and in the end you have a zoo. Buttons here, switches there, text sizes all over the place. Users get confused, teams move slower, developers cry quietly in the corner (true story).
I had to bring order, make logic clear, and give both users and team a system they can trust.

My role

I wasn’t just fixing flows. My role was to untangle the chaos, align with devs and PO, and cut endless duplicates. I made sure changes were not only good for users, but also realistic for the team to build fast.

6

Sprints

The very first fixes

The very first fixes

I found many problems from typography to navigation. But I had to begin with the most important things.

I found many problems from typography to navigation. But I had to begin with the most important things.

First areas I worked on:

Product pages

1

Wishlist flow, Outfit flow (“shop the look”)

2

Unification of key elements of the design system

3

INPUT LABEL:

INPUT LABEL:

HYPERLINK

Hyperlink

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Button Label

Button Label

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HYPERLINK

Hyperlink

HYPERLINK

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Research

Research

Before jumping into solutions, I wanted to see the full picture.
The product grew for years, many teams worked on it, and every team left their fingerprints. I needed to understand not just one broken screen, but how wide the chaos was.

Before jumping into solutions, I wanted to see the full picture.
The product grew for years, many teams worked on it, and every team left their fingerprints. I needed to understand not just one broken screen, but how wide the chaos was.

Numbers

01

Analytics showed main drop points in key flows.

Real flows

02

Collected all the messy versions to see how many duplicates exist.

Inside chaos

03

No shared system → dozens of duplicate buttons and flows.

What users (and the team) struggled with the most across inconsistent flows?

What users (and the team) struggled with the most across inconsistent flows?

Product pages

Every category had a different way to pick size — dropdowns here, chips there, big tables somewhere else. Hard to compare and a bit messy.

66%

Too many versions

Inconsistent patterns

Hard to compare

PDP flow

On product pages, steps changed by category — extra clicks, missing options, or different add-to-cart.

71%

Too many steps

Missing options

Inconsistent logic

Outfit flow

Adding a look could be one click in one place and five steps in another. The logic kept changing and confused people.

41%

Confusing steps

Too many clicks

Different logic each time

These inconsistencies didn’t just confuse people shopping — they also meant more bugs, more fixes, and more wasted hours for the team.

These inconsistencies didn’t just confuse people shopping — they also meant more bugs, more fixes, and more wasted hours for the team.

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Buttons —
40+ version

Inputs — 


17+ version

Size selectors — 

16+ versions

Tabs — 


10+ versions

The audit confirmed both sides of the problem: users were lost in inconsistent selectors and broken outfit flows, while the team kept wasting time maintaining the same components in ten different versions.

Fixing one meant fixing the other — fewer variations for users, less duplicate work for the team.

41+

Problems and solutions

Problems and solutions

So what did I end up with? After mapping everything out, the picture was clear:

So what did I end up with? After mapping everything out, the picture was clear:

Focus area

Inconsistent flows frustrated users on the outside, and drained the team on the inside. Too many patterns to support, too many bugs to fix again and again.

Kseniia Bator

Product designer

Solution

01

Unify product pages — one pattern instead of 16+, easier shopping for users, less support for devs.

Solution

03

PDP flow — one clear logic across categories, so the team didn’t have to hack each product type differently.

Solution

02

Outfit flow — simple, scalable: users add full looks or single items, and the team supports only one version.

Testing different approaches

Testing different approaches

Explorations and trade-offs

Explorations and trade-offs

Trade-offs everywhere

We couldn’t always go with the “perfect” UX — big systems bring limits, so it was about finding balance.

Tech & business constraints

Each category had its own logic, and business wanted fast delivery. We had to unify without breaking things.

Cross-team alignment

I spent a lot of time with devs and the PO. I helped the team cut through ‘perfect in Figma’ ideas and find what was realistic to ship fast.

Scaling the solution

The flow had to live long-term, across many categories. I checked edge cases to make sure it really works everywhere.

Scaling the solution

In the end, it wasn’t only about the user flow, but also what the system can handle. I drove the discussion to one path that balanced both user flow and system limits.

Color:

MOTIF

12 colors

Size:

Size Chart

Regular

Wide

Narrow

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T

Which Size Fits Me?

Add to Bag

Buy Now

6,212 Customers Purchased

Explored multiple UI patterns across categories

Aligned with developers and product owner on trade-offs

Unified product cards under one scalable pattern

Facilitated trade-offs with devs & PO

Compared flows for speed & clarity

Led alignment to choose one scalable flow

Made it scalable across categories

Flow 1

All items listed on the right side, quick add-to-cart possible.

+ Simple and fast for devs

+ User can add multiple items quickly

– List becomes overloaded in big outfits

– Hard to compare details

Flow 2

Modal with all products visible after “Shop the look.”

+ Clear overview of all items

+ Easy to add/remove before purchase

– Heavy UI, can feel distracting

– Extra click to open modal

Flow 3

Full-page pop-up with details.

+ Maximum space for information

+ Flexible to customize

– Blocks the whole screen

– Slower for quick actions

Flow 4

Found the sweet spot between speed and detail

Tried 8 different PDP flows

Chose one clear pattern for every category

Simple flows, clear tokens, and one library used by all teams.

Simple flows, clear tokens, and one library used by all teams.

A system that works

A system that works

Structure

Next, I reshaped the system into something the team could actually use. Clear names, clear folders, clear rules. I walked designers and developers through the logic, so we all spoke the same language and stopped wasting time on “where is that thing?”

Remember me

Save my login details for next time.

Remember me

Save my login details for next time.

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This is a tooltip

This is a tooltip

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Sign in with Google

Sign in with Google

Sign in with Google

Sign in with Twitter

Sign in with Twitter

Sign in with Twitter

Button CTA

Button CTA

Button CTA

Button CTA

Button CTA

Button CTA

Button CTA

Button CTA

Button CTA

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kseniaspage96@gmail.com

kseniaspage96@gmail.com

kseniaspage96@gmail.com

kseniaspage96@gmail.com

Email

kseniaspage96@gmail.com

Email

kseniaspage96@gmail.com

Email

kseniaspage96@gmail.com

Email

kseniaspage96@gmail.com

New product

We’ve just released a new feature

New product

We’ve just released a new feature

Error

There was a problem with that action

Error

There was a problem with that action

Success

You’ve updated your profile

Success

You’ve updated your profile

List item

List item

List item

List item

List item

List item

List item

List item

Buttons, inputs, tabs reduced and standardized

One Figma file used by all teams

Unification

Patterns were a jungle. I set clear rules, synced decisions fast, and killed endless debates over buttons or cards — we agreed once and moved on.
Everyone understood the rules and felt ownership of the system. It wasn’t just my cleanup, it became a shared agreement — that’s how I “manage” the process.

It wasn’t just about the flow

It wasn’t just about the flow

Not just flows small fixes, big impact

Not just flows small fixes, big impact

Helpful microcopy

Before: labels were all over the place — “add” here, “select” there, sometimes even mixed terms. People had to stop and think: “Wait, is this the same thing?”

Now: words are short and consistent. Users said it felt like the site “spoke one language” with them — less stress, smoother flow.

Lighter modals

Before: big pop-ups took over the whole screen. You lost the page, lost the context, sometimes even forgot what you were doing.
Now: the window slides in from the side, so the product page stays visible. Less heavy, more control, easier decisions.

Consistent interactions

Before: the same action behaved differently on every page. Confusing, slow, and easy to miss.
Now: one clear rule across the site. Learn it once, use it everywhere. Users felt more confident — and the team had fewer bugs to fix.

Result

Result

What used to feel messy is now one clear journey. Cleaner product pages and a consistent PDP flow made users move faster and trust the process more.
Designers stopped wasting hours, developers fixed less, and shipping new features finally felt smooth. The system turned from a burden into an engine powering faster releases and a consistent experience for users.

What used to feel messy is now one clear journey. Cleaner product pages and a consistent PDP flow made users move faster and trust the process more.
Designers stopped wasting hours, developers fixed less, and shipping new features finally felt smooth. The system turned from a burden into an engine powering faster releases and a consistent experience for users.

26 %

less dev time spent on re-fixes

30.5 %

duplicate components removed

20 %

faster designer onboarding

Result

21.6 %

increase in completed add-to-carts

Jan

Fab

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

21.6%

Business result

6.2 %

lift in paying users in the first month

Jan

Fab

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

6.2%

33.1 %

consistency score across categories

+16k

33%

products added to wishlist / cart per month

75k year

saved on support workload

And a few more words about the project

And a few more words about the project

Summary

Summary

Business impact

For users: faster size picking, no more guessing, smoother outfit flow.
For the team: less duplicate work, fewer bugs, and a system easier to scale.
Even small tweaks — like softer words or lighter modals — lifted trust and completion.

Constraints

This wasn’t a clean start — it was a giant system with old parts, many product types, and not much time. So I had to be picky: focus on the changes that gave the biggest impact and could actually be built.

Collaboration

I spent a lot of time with devs and the PO, going back and forth on trade-offs. Some flows looked “perfect” in Figma, but would have taken months to code. Together we found options that kept the user happy and the release moving.

Next steps

Keep pushing the unified system into new categories, and step by step turn it into a product that feels consistent from start to finish.

Account optimization

Search experience

We are here

Navigation redesign

Accessibility & performance pass

Used literature & research

Used literature & research

The redesigned flow simplified registration, clarified the value proposition, and streamlined verification leading to a 28% increase in completed sign-ups.

The redesigned flow simplified registration, clarified the value proposition, and streamlined verification leading to a 28% increase in completed sign-ups.

Personal
takeaway

Personal
takeaway

Kseniia Bator

Product designer

In big systems, chaos comes fast if you dont set the rules.
For me as a senior, its not just about nice screens its about keeping the whole thing clear and workable for everyone.

In big systems, chaos comes fast if you dont set the rules.
For me as a senior, its not just about nice screens its about keeping the whole thing clear and workable for everyone.

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