Leading the design and implementation of a new design system for Zalando. Responsibilities include shaping of the design principles and guidelines, design processes, designer tools, product contribution guidelines, optimisation of the platform, and working closely with data science teams, ensuring accessibility standards are met, and mentoring the product team.
Educating the business and implementing accessibility standards to the website was also a personal achievement, after having done the same for ASOS.
Our Mission
"Reimagine Fashion For The Good Of All"
With the goal to:
Grow: Develop an industry-leading platform to double growth within 3 years, as we reimagine fashion for the good of all with testable, scalable efficiency.
Connect: Create experiences that connect to and empower everyone — customers, producers, trendsetters, or brands — for a closer, more supportive world
With a view to:
"Align all of our digital platforms underneath a set of shared principles to ensure consistency, collaboration, efficiency and scalability for the business."
Principles
We established a set of principles for the redesign of Zalando, that tied to the very core of who Zalando was and why our customers enjoyed using Zalando.
Democratic
Only Zalando offers the breadth of products, brands and services capable of giving everyone the chance to fashion who they are.
Design is simple, easy and delightful to use. It fosters memorable moments and creates emotional connections.
Approachable
Only Zalando is large enough to be a democratising force that creates connections between everyone — customers, producers, trendsetters, or brands — for a closer, more supportive world.
Typography is big and bold. Our interface is simple and clean. We give brands, large and small, the tools to tell compelling stories and highlight their products effectively. Copy is clear and direct, so that everyone can understand what we’re saying. We avoid jargon and slang. We aim for inclusivity.
Relevant
Only Zalando has the resources and expert knowledge to always be relevant and helpful, elevating fashion into everyone’s purview.
Design is functional, not flashy. It focuses attention on content — allowing us to deliver information that inspires and educates.
Empowering
Only Zalando has the tools and information to deliver an inspiring tailored experience to anyone.
Design gives users the tools to shape and control their experience. We provide context to how content is surfaced and allow for adjustment.
Components
An example of the components designed to fulfil a more democratic, approachable, relevant and empowering user journey include:
Hero banner
Every page needs a hero, so headers are used to set the stage on the home page, brand shops, and category pages.
Featured collection
New or trending collections deserve a moment of celebration with a large hero image and branded background colour.
Shoppable collection carousel
These provide product focused collections maximum shoppability by surfacing popular products within.
Product grid
Dynamic and versatile product grids create engaging layouts, while highlighting products at every level.
Design System
Another responsibility of mine was to design and deliver the Design system, for which we also built a website and guidelines.
