VisitScotland Design System

From fragmented to living system

For years, VisitScotland had attempted to create a design system, but organisational complexities meant it never fully came to life. The main challenge laid in silos, resulting in fragmented efforts and tools that couldn’t scale.

Client

VisitScotland

Services

Strategy Education Operations Design system UX/UI

Industries

Tourism

Date

2022

Results

  • Reduced siloes and improved operational efficiency

  • Reduced duplications across platforms and products

  • Improved consistency between design and development

  • Established the design system as an ongoing programme, not a finite project

  • Enhanced processes and tooling for faster, more reliable delivery

  • Restructured multi-disciplinary teams to embed collaboration

  • Raised design maturity and organisational understanding of design systems

The challenge

VisitScotland had long recognised the need for a design system, but organisational silos and misaligned priorities meant previous attempts never reached full adoption. With government organisations increasingly expected to meet GDS standards and accessibility requirements, the absence of a functional system posed not just an operational gap but a legal and reputational risk.

Efforts to build a system were already underway when I joined, but they risked producing something fragmented and unfit for purpose. I pressed pause, took leadership through the underlying issues, and highlighted why a design system is not a one-off deliverable but an evolving foundation that requires ongoing investment.

In addition, the team faced operational challenges: the design process was fragmented and under-utilised. Designers were often briefed on what to produce rather than involved in problem-solving, resulting in frustration and weaker outcomes. Collaboration between design and digital delivery was limited, and the existing "design system" itself reflected that disconnect - a “single-legged” system full of inconsistencies, with no clear ownership or governance.

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The approach

Together with my team, I began by conducting a comprehensive audit of the existing system and workflows, mapping every inconsistency, duplication, and gap that undermined adoption. This allowed us to establish a clear baseline and make the case for change to leadership - reframing the system not as a finite deliverable, but as a living framework requiring continuous iteration, resourcing, and cross-disciplinary ownership.

We introduced operational improvements to rebuild collaboration and redefine how the team worked:

  • Established a clear design-to-development workflow, with shared naming conventions, tokens, and documentation to bridge Figma and Storybook.

  • Created cross-functional alignment sessions so designers, UX analysts, and developers worked in parallel rather than in sequence.

  • Implemented shared governance rituals for reviewing, prioritising, and maintaining components, ensuring ongoing quality and accountability.

  • Helped restructure team roles to better reflect the strengths of individual designers and analysts, restoring creative ownership and improving morale.

I also worked closely with the .com and .org squads to define the roadmap for implementing the new system in alignment with the brand refresh. We split responsibilities into two streams - one focused on expanding and evolving components and patterns, and another on resolving legacy issues, bugs, and stabilisation. This balance allowed us to modernise while maintaining existing platforms.

The result was not just a rebuilt design system, but a new operational model - one that united design and delivery, restored trust in the process, and laid the foundation for scalable, consistent, and accessible digital design across VisitScotland.

Final results

  • Unified design and delivery through shared workflows, language, and governance, bridging long-standing silos.

  • Reduced duplications across products and platforms, improving efficiency and clarity.

  • Improved design–development consistency, ensuring a single source of truth between Figma and Storybook.

  • Redefined processes and tooling, enabling faster, more confident design delivery.

  • Restructured multi-disciplinary teams around system ownership, fostering collaboration and accountability.

  • Secured leadership buy-in, reframing the design system as an ongoing strategic programme rather than a one-off project.

  • Raised design maturity, empowering designers to work proactively and restoring creative ownership within the team.