The journey began by engaging directly with stakeholders. Through surveys and interviews with 15 partners and 50 end-users, we uncovered a narrative of fragmented workflows and design inconsistencies.

Partners expressed frustration over the time-consuming nature of updates, while end-users noted subtle design differences that disrupted trust. A striking insight emerged: 60% of stakeholders reported inefficiencies when applying updates across platforms, highlighting the need for a scalable solution.

We approached the design system not just as a library of components, but as a living product with scalability and adaptability at its core. Starting with low-fidelity wireframes, we explored layout structures, reusable UI patterns, and interaction models that could flex across 47 unique white-label platforms.

As we moved into prototyping, we prioritised modularity every component was designed to be configurable, from buttons to banners to navigation. One of our key breakthroughs was introducing a real-time theming prototype that allowed stakeholders to test brand configurations live. This hands-on experience validated our hypothesis: giving users immediate visual feedback on changes significantly increased confidence and adoption.

To maintain consistency while enabling customisation, we implemented a system of design tokens. These tokens—representing variables like color, typography, spacing, and elevation—became the single source of truth for visual styling. Instead of editing styles across multiple codebases, partners could now simply update their token set to reflect brand identity, without touching the underlying components.

We documented rules and usage guidelines for every component, supported by clear token hierarchies (global, thematic, and contextual). This structure not only streamlined development but ensured visual consistency across platforms even as branding varied.

By the end of the design phase, we had built a robust, scalable foundation that empowered both designers and developers to move faster, with confidence and clarity.

We conducted remote usability testing with 15 participants across multiple partner brands to ensure the system performed consistently under varied visual identities and content structures. Testing focused on real-world tasks, navigating dashboards, customising themes, and interpreting metrics desktop, tablet and mobile.

Users highlighted the need for more contextual support, leading us to introduce dynamic tooltips and inline guidance. We also uncovered accessibility issues in certain brand overrides, prompting refinements to our token system to enforce contrast and type scale standards.

A/B testing helped us optimise responsiveness and interaction patterns across devices. These iterative improvements ensured the design system was not only flexible, but also accessible, intuitive, and ready to scale.

The impact of our design system was significant:

Setup times decreased by 50%, enabling faster launches.
Visual consistency scores improved by 35%, strengthening brand trust.

Task completion rates rose by 20%, enhancing usability.

For GSG, the system transcended operational efficiency—it became a growth enabler. With faster onboarding, they could scale partnerships seamlessly. As one partner noted:
“Rebranding used to take days. Now, it’s done in hours.”