Company
Micro Focus (Ex-HP)
Role
Head of Product Design
Team
Global Design Studio
Scope
Defined foundations, led end-to-end strategy, and drove cross-functional alignment
Problem space
In mid-2020, as the pandemic reshaped how global teams collaborated, our product portfolio was expanding rapidly. Design inconsistencies, duplicated work, and inefficient handoffs were slowing down dozens of product teams. Design systems were not yet standard practice in our organization, so one of the core challenges was securing leadership buy-in to invest in a unified design infrastructure.
Design Goal
To modernize and scale our design system, enhancing speed, consistency, and cross-team alignment while reducing design debt and the guesswork that came with it. We needed a product that wouldn't break when it grew.
Process
We began by aligning Micro Focus's corporate identity with product UI foundations, building iteratively across tokens, typography, iconography, components, layout, accessibility, and prototyping patterns. We also transitioned all teams to Figma simultaneously, driving tool adoption during a time of global disruption.
Building the foundation: tokens, typography, and component structure in Figma
Solution
We created Currents, a living design system launched in March 2021. Built as a modern single source of truth for a suite of complex enterprise products, it served global teams across design, product, frontend, and marketing through easy-to-use Figma libraries and a clear governance model. The vision from day one was that the system would evolve alongside the product rather than drift from it, connected and maintained as a living foundation rather than a static document.
Live demonstration of assembling a new product screen with Currents libraries
Managing it like a product
Making it stick
Moving dozens of teams to Figma required global coordination and phased rollout. We demonstrated value early to drive engagement. Bridging design and development was made possible through Figma's collaborative features, which improved implementation accuracy and speed. Securing leadership alignment early was crucial. I defined a compelling narrative, presented data-backed value, and engaged executives regularly to maintain continued support.
Why Currents?
To foster a sense of ownership, we ran a company-wide naming competition. Over 140 submissions came in, and the final name was selected by a panel including our CMO and legal team. Currents reflects flow, consistency, and momentum across the design ecosystem.
Success outcomes
32+ products running on a shared foundation. 75% component utilization across the platform. 30 global teams aligned under one design language. Design-to-development cycle time reduced by 35%.
Presenting Currents to design managers across the globe was as much about building belief in the system as it was about the system itself. Getting designers everywhere to feel ownership over something shared was the real work.
All-hands global session - 100+ participants across Micro Focus worldwide
Legacy
Currents continues to serve as the design foundation across the product portfolio. The team actively tracks usage, optimizes libraries, and integrates new standards.
A system built with this level of structure and governance doesn't just serve the teams working in it today. It becomes what everything else builds on - faster, with less friction, and without starting from scratch.
Four years later, I brought those learnings into AppsFlyer, where I led a full redesign of their design system, adapting it to new technologies, evolving product needs, and the advanced Figma capabilities that had emerged in the years since. The belief stayed the same: A design system is never finished. It evolves with the product.
