Virtru: Virtuoso Design System
At Virtru, I spearheaded the creation of Virtuoso, a design system built on collaboration with the UX team. This system features a library of reusable and consistent components, empowering designers to rapidly iterate on mockups and minimize rework.
My Objective
Create a Sketch-based design system to enable the UX team to quickly iterate design mockups. Design system to fuel the engineering design system with reusable, consistent design elements.
I led the design and development of Virtuoso, a design system based on collaboration with the UX team. I directed the design team in defining, structuring, and governing the design system, while also developing and implementing it in collaboration with another design
Goals
Future-proofed Design System: Build a design system that accommodates current projects while leaving room for future growth and evolving needs.
Adaptable Asset Library: Create a central library for design elements (illustrations, props, etc.) that allows for easy integration into existing and future projects.
Scalable Brand Identity: Design the system to be flexible, allowing for effortless updates to colors, fonts, and logos as brand guidelines change.
Process: Building a Shared Design Language:
- To ensure consistency, I scheduled weekly meetings where designers and brand marketers could review and improve our design system.
- We began with a basic library built from existing designs, making sure everything used the same colors, fonts, sizes, and naming conventions.
- The team then tested the library in their projects, bringing any issues back to the weekly meetings. We discussed their feedback and constantly refined the library based on their needs.
- Within a year, everyone transitioned from using their own design files to a single, shared library system.
The Solutions
The design system delivered big wins across the board:
Empowered Users: A consistent design language built trust, made content easier to read, and improved accessibility—overall creating a smoother, more user-friendly experience.
Faster Design Workflows: UX designers moved quicker by tapping into a shared library of reusable components and patterns, keeping designs cohesive and efficient.
Smoother Handoff to Engineering: Consistent UX deliverables made it easier for engineers to implement designs and helped pave the way for reusable front-end components.
Happy Stakeholders: Internal teams saw clear wins in speed and scalability thanks to the design system—making the value of UX more visible across the org.
How it all worked
Built the System from the Ground Up: I created reusable design libraries in Sketch, organizing UI components and patterns to support consistent, scalable design work.
Managed Version Control with Abstract: I set up and maintained versioning and library sharing in Abstract, making sure the team always had access to the latest design assets.
Streamlined Design Workflow: By connecting projects to the central library, I ensured updates synced automatically—saving designers time and reducing inconsistencies.
Extensions to the design system library
I developed design library enhancements to ensure a cohesive and consistent product, including creating an extensive library of stylized illustrations and unifying application messages.
Stylized illustrations were a key part of our visual language, so I built a flexible, brand-aligned library of characters and props for the team to use. I started with Pablo Stanley’s open-source Humans library, then customized, expanded, and recolored the illustrations to match the Virtuoso brand—giving designers a consistent yet versatile toolkit.
When I joined Virtru, application messages were all over the place—visually inconsistent and written in different tones. I led a deep dive audit to surface these inconsistencies, working with the team to revise the visuals and unify the messaging under a consistent brand voice. As we built out the Virtuoso design system, this work became part of our standardized UX patterns and guidelines.
Examples of some elements brought together
Skills & Tools
Related Project: Virtru Admin Dashboard
