Fusion Design System
DIRECTV's Design system
Company
DIRECTV
Project context
When I joined the initiative to build the Fusion Design System, our design and development teams were facing significant inefficiencies. Each team was reinventing components, creating inconsistencies across breakpoints and slowing down delivery.
Goals
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Create a cohesive design language across DIRECTV products.
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Improve efficiency by reducing duplication of work.
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Ensure accessibility and inclusivity in all components.
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Provide developers with ready-to-use, production-ready assets.
Role
I helped establish the system’s foundations, focusing on tokens, components, and processes that could scale across platforms while maintaining consistency and accessibility.
Problem statement
Each design team had its own approach to design, which created inconsistencies across the ecosystem. Developers were re-building components multiple times, designers often duplicated efforts, and customers were not experiencing a cohesive brand identity.
We needed a single source of truth that ensured consistency, scalability, and quality — while improving efficiency for both designers and developers.
The process of Phase 1 – "Fusion Lab"
Audit &
Discovery
Identified duplicate components and conflicting rules.
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Design
Tokens​
Standardized color, type, spacing into reusable tokens.
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Component
Library
Created Figma + Storybook components with documentation. Components available in Bit Cloud.
Collaboration &
QA
Worked with devs to ensure fidelity; led QA sessions.
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Rollout &
Education
Gradual onboarding, workshops, documentation.
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My role in Phase 1: Foundations
In the initial phase of building the system, I focused on establishing design tokens and applying them consistently across our library. This work ensured scalability and a single source of truth for color, typography, spacing, and interaction states.
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Defined and documented design tokens (colors, type, spacing, elevation).
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Applied tokens to all components across the library, ensuring consistency.
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Partnered with development to QA and validate components in Bit Cloud, ensuring parity between design and code.
My role in Phase 2: Implementation & Sustainment
During this phase, I supported the Design System Director in the implementation and sustainment of the library. My contributions helped ensure the system scaled consistently and maintained quality as more designers submitted components.
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My responsibilities included:
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Building and enhancing components when designers had limited technical skillsets.
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Providing guidance and follow-up through Office Hours, helping teammates resolve issues and align with best practices.
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Supporting the creation of Usage Guidelines, ensuring documentation was consistent and easy to adopt.
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QA and merging designer branches to maintain consistency and quality across the shared library.
This phase reinforced my role as a bridge between designers and the system director — supporting the vision of the design system while ensuring its day-to-day implementation and adoption.
Impact
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Consistency: All teams aligned on a unified design language.
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Efficiency: Reduced duplication of design and dev work.
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Accessibility: Components met WCAG standards with tested color contrast and keyboard navigation.
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Scalability: A living system now supports ongoing product growth.
Lessons Learned
Building the Fusion Design System went far beyond creating tokens and components. I learned that a design system is not just a library — it’s an ecosystem that needs governance, education, and trust to succeed.
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Some of the biggest lessons I took away:
Collaboration is everything
aligning with developers early avoids costly rework later.
Governance matters
without naming conventions and publishing rules, even the best system falls apart.
Education builds adoption
designers and engineers need guidance and confidence to truly embrace the system.
This project shaped my approach to design systems: focus not only on the what (components, tokens) but on the how (processes, adoption, collaboration) that make them sustainable.