QuickBooks Design System

Overview

In a comprehensive overhaul of Intuit's user experience for its small business division products, I played a key role in unifying the user experience across multiple platforms. This project was pivotal in transitioning from the established Harmony Design System to the innovative QuickBooks Design System (QBDS), significantly improving the design process across all platforms for over 150 Intuit designers worldwide.

Challenge

The project's core challenge was to unify the user experience across Intuit’s diverse product range, ensuring a seamless and intuitive interface for users worldwide. The transition to QBDS marked a significant shift towards a more modular, flexible, and user-centric design approach, necessitating a collaborative and innovative strategy to revamp the design ecosystem.

Role and Contributions

• Played an important role in the creation of a central library of modular components, complete with clear application guidelines, to ensure consistency and streamline design workflows across projects.
  
  
• Developed and implemented innovative design tools aimed at managing the central library of modular components, streamlining the design workflow for over 150 designers worldwide. This initiative also led to a robust governance model, ensuring efficient management of the design system and facilitating collaboration across teams.
  
  
• Collaborated closely with various design teams within Intuit to evaluate existing design patterns and develop new interaction patterns, particularly tailored for mobile devices, enhancing cross-platform consistency.

Outcomes and Impact

• Significantly improved usability and streamlined design workflows.
  
  
• Enhanced usability of QuickBooks apps on both mobile and desktop devices through consistent responsive patterns, driven by a mobile-first design approach.
  
  

• Transformed the design process at Intuit through the establishment of a central library and development of effective design tools, fostering better collaboration and efficiency among designers.
  
  

• Set a strong foundation for future redesigns, simplifying the transition process and ensuring continued improvement.

The implementation of the QuickBooks Design System (QBDS) at Intuit represented a pivotal shift in the organization's strategy to unify and enhance the user experience across its small business division products. This initiative streamlined the design process for an extensive team of designers and set a new standard for design quality within the organization. By embracing a modular, user-centered design approach and fostering collaboration across teams, Intuit significantly improved usability and operational efficiency, providing a solid foundation for future innovations.

Looking back on the project, the lessons learned and insights gained from implementing the QBDS have informed Intuit's future design strategies, ensuring its products remain adaptable, user-centric, and at the forefront of technological advancements. The project's success in promoting cross-platform consistency and advocating for a mobile-first design approach has positioned Intuit to continually evolve its design practices, demonstrating a commitment to excellence and innovation in meeting user needs.

The component library for QuickBooks was shared through a clever management system built with off-the-shelf parts, ensuring all design teams had access to a verified, single source of truth within the QB ecosystem.

Marketing email component system built with QBDS principles in mind.

The creation of the QuickBooks Design System (QBDS) was part of a broader initiative to unify the look, feel, and functionality across all QuickBooks products, on multiple devices ensuring design consistency and improving the UX.

A transitional typographical system bridged the legacy Harmony Ecosystem to the QuickBooks Design System,
achieving visual cohesion and robust implementation across products.

QuickBooks Design System's enabled the development of adaptable and intuitive mobile interfaces.