Nissan Global
December 2018 - June 2019
After leaving the BIO agency, I started a contract with Publicis Sapient working on the Nissan account. Hired for my experience leading complex design systems, I worked alongside Nissan’s Global UXD team. Being integrated like a permanent staff member, I conducted presentations and workshops for Global Executive meetings and managed stakeholder expectations with transparent communication.
This multi-faceted role allowed me to draw on my experience autonomously leading projects. I led large pieces of work, from the detailed briefing and oversight of their new icon library and the creation of their design system to becoming the lead UXer on one of their essential user journeys.
Nissan Design Basics
Dubbed initially ‘The Design Ecosystem’, the online guide for all things ‘Nissan brand’ evolved into ‘Nissan Design Basics’. Acting as the overarching brand hub, which included information on everything from; how to use the logo and how the curves of the Nissan typography were designed to mimic the curves and lines of their vehicles to the colours that should be used in infographics and ‘Nissan’ specific visual devices like colour blocking.
This project was a nice change from the deep technical detail I worked on for Three. It allowed me to understand how to speak to a range of audiences as this guide was consumed by many different departments within Nissan, from marketing and content to engineering.
Global App Icon Design System
Putting together a comprehensive guide on why Nissan needed a clearly defined app icon for each app in their vast suit was an essential piece for Nissan. Some critical departments in the business didn’t understand the implications of why we couldn’t use the same icon for every app, so this documentation went a long way to commissioning the redesign of that app icon suit.
On to the next one…
The contract with Nissan was a rolling contract, however in June 2019 I decided to leave in search of a contract that would allow me to focus on my passion for design systems. Next up I was lucky enough to land my dream gig, leading the brand new design of The Guardian’s design system.