Overview

I led the development and adoption of the Canvas Design System, a scalable, multi-brand framework that modernized design operations across Vans, Timberland, The North Face, and other VF brands. The system improved consistency, reduced design debt, accelerated delivery, and ensured accessible, high-quality experiences across desktop and mobile.

Challenges

• Multiple brands had inconsistent UI patterns, typography, and components, leading to duplicated work and fragmented experiences.

• Existing design processes lacked a unified framework, making cross-brand scaling inefficient.

• Designers and engineers needed guidance on implementing a shared system without compromising individual brand identity.

• Ensuring accessibility compliance and flexible patterns for different products and screen sizes added complexity.

Approach

I took a systems-thinking design approach, consolidating shared patterns while maintaining brand uniqueness. I partnered with Product, Engineering, and Design leadership to define system standards, validate feasibility, and support adoption through research, audits, and iterative testing.

Solution

I led the creation and rollout of Canvas as a robust design system infrastructure, establishing a scalable, versatile framework that guided cross-brand consistency, adoption, and operational efficiency through the following key initiatives:

• Leadership & Governance: Defined system standards and provided oversight to ensure consistent application across brands.

• Reusable & Scalable Components: Developed modular components and responsive patterns adaptable to multiple verticals and brand identities.

• Adoption & Education: Conducted workshops, created documentation, and offered hands-on guidance to onboard designers and engineers.

• Impact-Focused Design: Reduced design debt, accelerated iteration cycles, improved accessibility, and ensured high-quality, consistent experiences.

Outcome

• Enabled scalable and consistent experiences across multiple VF brands.

• Reduced duplicated work and design debt, improving delivery speed for new features and products.

• Increased accessibility compliance across digital properties, saving $5.2M annually in avoided accessibility fines.

• Increased checkout conversions from 38% to 57% on average.

• Achieved strong adoption from design and engineering teams, establishing Canvas as the core design framework for VF brands.

My Role

Senior Product Designer leading system strategy, design, and adoption. Owned component architecture, cross-functional alignment, education, and governance. Partnered with Product and Engineering to ensure scalable, accessible, and high-quality implementation across brands.