Qualcomm
I joined Wunderman Thompson as the Creative Director for their largest client, Qualcomm’s OneDX platform – a self-service marketing and sales platform projected to generate $2-3 billion in annual revenue. My role required me to bring structure to a design team struggling with high turnover and low morale while also formalizing a scalable design system to support a seamless customer experience.
The Challenge
While the OneDX platform already had a visual direction, it lacked a well-structured, scalable design system.
This resulted in inefficiencies, inconsistencies, and an inability to support the platform’s customer-centric digital experience goals. The team also lacked clear processes, tools, and documentation, making it difficult to work efficiently or uphold Qualcomm’s high standards for usability and accessibility.
Additionally, the customer task flows and personas revealed critical pain points in how users engaged with OneDX. Engineers, procurement specialists, product managers, and legal teams all faced barriers in discovering, evaluating, and purchasing Qualcomm products. The fragmented experience was causing frustration and lost business opportunities.
My Role
I approached the project with a dual focus:
Design System Development – Creating a scalable system aligned with Qualcomm’s business goals and digital experience strategy.
Team Leadership & Morale – Establishing a productive, collaborative environment where designers could thrive.
Building a Scalable Design System
User-Centered Framework: Leveraged customer personas and task flows to ensure the system addressed real user needs.
Standardized Components & Tokens: Developed a structured design library in Figma, enabling efficiency and consistency across all touchpoints.
Cross-Functional Collaboration: Worked closely with UX designers, developers, copywriters, and business analysts to align on implementation.
Efficiency & Governance: Implemented clear documentation and usage guidelines to reduce production bottlenecks and minimize inconsistencies.
Improving Team Dynamics & Efficiency
Rebuilt Team Morale: Created an open environment where designers felt supported and valued.
Removed Roadblocks: Addressed inefficiencies in team workflows and facilitated smoother communication with stakeholders.
Empowered Team Members: Encouraged ownership over projects, allowing designers to build confidence in their work.
Key Contributions
Strategic Design System Development
Developed a cohesive, scalable design system that improved efficiency and consistency across OneDX.
Integrated customer insights and task flows to ensure designs directly supported Qualcomm’s business and digital objectives.
Reduced design-to-development friction, enabling faster iteration and improved usability.
Cross-Team Collaboration & Leadership
Facilitated collaboration between design, engineering, and product teams to align on a unified strategy.
Created structured processes for managing design updates, ensuring the system evolved without disrupting workflows.
Operational & Business Impact
Increased efficiency, reducing time spent on redundant design work.
Strengthened Qualcomm’s digital experience strategy, improving customer engagement.
Laid the groundwork for scalable growth, ensuring OneDX could expand without compromising usability.
Impact
By formalizing the Qualcomm OneDX Design System, I helped transform a fragmented, inefficient design process into a streamlined, user-focused system. This not only improved design consistency but also directly addressed customer pain points, ensuring a smoother experience for engineers, procurement specialists, and product managers navigating the OneDX platform.
This project reinforced my belief that design systems are not just about visual consistency—they are strategic tools that drive business success. By aligning the system with Qualcomm’s customer journey and business objectives, I was able to create a framework that improved usability, efficiency, and overall customer satisfaction.