Design System

Clearly structured, scalable and accessible design

ION Analytics recently acquired Acuris, a financial news and data provider with over 30 product platforms. The need was to align all of these products into a single platform with a same consistent look and feel.

Product

ION Analytics - Design System

Role

Lead Designer

Responsibilities

  • Design Discovery
  • Heuristic Analysis
  • Pattern Extraction
  • Usability Testing
  • Component Design and Documentation
Legacy UI

Opportunity

To establish a unified design language across all ION Analytics products, enhancing brand perception and trust through consistent user experiences.
Role

Served as the lead designer guiding other designers to create, iterate, and document design tokens for the ION Analytics Design System. Facilitated weekly feedback sessions with the design team to provide collaborative feedback and mentorship. Designed and documented components for the component library. Worked closely with product managers to gather requirements and partnered with developers to create and maintain the ION Analytics Design System.

Discovery

Colours and Accessibility

Accessibility
Comprehensive Content Audit

The 30 legacy products relied heavily on colours to differentiate themselves for example blue for fixed income products, yellow for compliance and so on. To meet WCAG 2.1 accessibility standards, we moved away from relying on colour differentiation for branding.

This colour-centric approach was not only difficult to maintain but also problematic for users with colour vision deficiencies.

By using a plugin to simulate various types of colour blindness, I explored the impact of our colour usage on these users. This insight led us to develop a more accessible design system that reduces reliance on colour.

Platform Foundations

Elevation
Each layer of elevation allows for the structured presentation of content allowing content to expand, overlay, or move in front of other elements in the platform.
Usability Testing

Designing data-rich interfaces is inherently challenging, making usability testing crucial for valuable feedback from users and stakeholders. This process proves that design isn't complete once a component is created; usability testing highlights which components are effective and which need refinement. Additionally, tracking user journeys and interactions provides insights into conversion rates, revealing how users engage with the interface and pinpointing areas for improvement.

Documentation and Implementation

Once validated, design components were signed off, built, and documented in the component library. Serving as a single source of truth for product management, design, and development, it eliminated confusion when referring to specific components within the design system. A major advantage of the component library was its efficiency in onboarding new product development team members, streamlining the process significantly.

Responsive and Scalable

Modular
Modularity is an important principle for interface design as each component had to respond to varying viewports from mobile to trading desk.

ION Analytics Design System

Design System
Key Insights

Increased User Engagement and Retention - Establishing a cohesive, responsive design language across six core product divisions ensured a unified experience and strong brand identity throughout all ION Analytics products. This consistency not only enhanced user satisfaction but also drove key account renewals and attracted new subscribers to the organisation.

Accelerating Go-to-Market Strategy - The product team were able to ship 5 new products to market in under 18 months thanks to the scalability of the design system.

Cost Optimisation - As part of a broader initiative to maximise efficiency, the scalability and reusability of design system components contributed to a 25% reduction in contractor and agency staff costs within the product development department, saving the company millions of pounds annually.

Key Metrics

25%

Reduction - in contractor and agency staff, due to gained efficiencies of using a design system.

5 Products

Launched in 18 months - accelerating go-to market strategy.

100%

Adoption - across all ION Analytics Products.