Adoption is a
design problem.
- → Design system north star platform
- → Unified component library
- → Illustration system
- → Design direction and governance
- → Adoption strategy
Fragmented design libraries consolidated into a single system teams chose to use
Reduction in production time across Mastercard design teams. Because the system was worth using
The situation
Mastercard had thirteen separate design libraries across its global teams. Each one built in isolation, each at a different stage of design, code, documentation and governance.
The conventional answer was governance. Mandate a single system and people will use it. But mandates don't create adoption. The real problem was that no system had earned the right to be the single source of truth.
The diagnosis
None of them felt like Mastercard. On the Made team, I led the work that made the system worth using. We started with a full inventory of all thirteen libraries.
Mandates don't create adoption. The system had to earn the right to be used.
From there, my focus was the surface. The north star platform that designers, developers and product owners would actually come to. Design direction, content, and an illustration system that brought Mastercard's rich visual assets into designers' daily workflow for the first time.
The outcome
Design teams across Mastercard reported 30–50% reduction in production time. Not because they were told to use it. Because it was finally worth using.
It's a quality problem.
Build something worth using,
and teams will choose it.