The Story Begins…

It wasn’t the first time I’d experienced a gap like this. With a decade of experience in UX design at this point, I’d encountered plenty of clients who’d looked to me for guidance on their design practices in addition to product-specific work. And Schwan’s was no different.

They’d looked to their previous design partner to help them navigate the many complexities around product design, but no designers stuck with the project long enough to make a meaningful impact. Their vision was always focused on the immediate problem rather than on long-term growth and sustainability. Schwan’s was a company full of incredibly smart, driven professionals, but nobody had much experience with product design leadership. After all, one doesn’t know what one doesn’t know.

They needed help, someone to show guide them along this intricate path and point out the rocks and branches to be on the lookout for.

I saw the opportunity to step in and become that person, to introduce innovation and efficiency in a way that drove value on both sides of the product equation.

I’m so glad I did.

Overview

As the Lead Product Designer, I embarked on a project to create and implement a same-day delivery feature for Schwan's Home Delivery, which later rebranded as "Yelloh!" Despite the client enduring financial and operational challenges midway through the project, I remained committed to, and embedded with, the team. Over the following 18 months I noticed a number of gaps in their processes and a general lack of design-focused leadership on the E-commerce team, so I took the initiative and implemented several practices and ideas that streamlined workflows and set them up for growth.

Team

Courtney Beyer (Product Owner), Hope Doom (BA), Jim Bittner (Scrum Master), Shawn Ricketts (FED), Jill Subera (Marketing Team Manager)

Goals

Increase consistency across the board by introducing scalable, flexible, modern design system
Transition marketing design team from Photoshop to Figma
Train marketing design team in proper handoff procedures
Establish documentation practice

Highlights:

45%

Boost in productivity and efficiency

5.25 hours

Time savings for FED each sprint

30%

Improved consistency sitewide

Project Details

Background

High Turnover in Design Team

Schwan's struggled with consistent design due to frequent designer turnover (they contracted product design from an agency, but designers typically left the project after a few months).
The existing, internal design team focused more on marketing than on UX and product design.
This led to a lack of design consistency and inefficiencies across projects.

Lack of a Functional Design System

The team lacked a cohesive design system, resulting in a piecemeal component library.
Many components were just screenshots from the live site, making them unusable.
The existing pattern library was very limited because of their outdated front-end framework.

Inefficient Workflow Using Photoshop

The E-commerce Marketing Design Team was designing layouts in Photoshop every two weeks.
This resulted in an extra 5-6 hours of prep time for the front-end developer each sprint.
The lack of proper design-dev handoff practices hampered efficiency and collaboration.

Discovery and Design Strategy

Creation of a Comprehensive Design System

Developed a new design system from scratch, prioritizing ease of understanding.
Organized components using Atomic Design principles, with accessible documentation.
Established clear naming conventions to improve team communication and understanding.

Implementation of Figma for Design Workflow

Transitioned the team from Photoshop to Figma, offering training to overcome initial hesitations.
Highlighted the benefits of Figma for creative output and efficiency in design processes.
Created a component called “canvas” for rapid layout building, streamlining the design process.

Conclusion

Improved Team Efficiency and Collaboration

The introduction of Figma and a functional design system significantly enhanced team efficiency.
Designers could iterate quickly, leading to faster deployment of pages and features.
Enhanced collaboration with the front-end developer reduced file prep time and errors.

Positive Business Impact

The product team experienced increased customer satisfaction and higher conversion rates.
The ability to design accurately and consistently contributed to the overall success of Yelloh.
My work supported a smooth transition to offshore design and development after team downsizing.

Lasting Impact on Organizational Practices

The design system and training practices set a foundation for future growth and adaptability.
Continued use of the design system helped Yelloh maintain product quality during challenging times.
My contributions empowered the design team to thrive, even with reduced resources.

Client Testimonial

Courtney Beyer, the Product Owner for the E-Commerce Product Team, had this to say about our experience working together:

“I had the pleasure of working with Grahame for about 18 months on the Schwan's Home Delivery ecomm product team. Grahame was a consulting product/UX designer and I was the product owner/manager. I greatly enjoyed working with him during that time, as he brought a positive attitude and energy to the team while creating and owning innovative UX design.

“Grahame is not only a highly talented designer, but he also has high standards for quality work and design system principles. He brought a fresh perspective to our team that enabled us to be innovative and bold with our designs and experiences, while still aligning with our customer base needs and expectations. An example of just two of the projects we worked on together included the introduction of Same-Day Delivery ordering capabilities and the rebrand (Grahame did an amazing job co-championing several areas of this design work alongside our brand agency). Another kudos to Grahame is that he helped (and truly led) us through moving from Photoshop to Figma for content design creation. This was a change management feat and involved training and advising other freelance designers, content marketers, and e-comm marketers. He handled it with grace and exhibited excellent leadership skills - influencing others without direct authority and being seen as a trusted advisor and expert in that space. Without Grahame, that internal transition would not have been nearly as successful.

All-in-all, Grahame is a joy to work with and is smart, incredibly talented, positive, and kind. Any team would be lucky to have him!”

Internal Process Improvements