What began as a design system to standardise Grifols' digital output soon evolved into design becoming a strategic driver. Its success sparked adoption across other divisions, expanding its influence and reshaping how Grifols delivers digital products at scale.
Role
Timeline
Area
Lead Designer
2020 - Present
Design Systems, Process
The problem
Immediately, I identified three key pain points:
As there was no design function, brand teams incurred significant costs by outsourcing design work
Custom development for each project consumed dev resources, leading to delivery delays and a growing backlog
The pharma industry is traditionally conservative, where design isn’t seen as a core value driver
Discovery
Early stakeholder conversations revealed gaps in the design process and showed that, while design was seen as a differentiator, it wasn’t connected to user experience.
"Definitely the time it takes to develop. Sometimes it can take months just to see an update. The backlog is completely full"
Product/Brand Manager
"Our backlog is full with requests. We are limited in resources - we have to review concepts, give feedback and also develop - it's unsustainable"
Developer
"Design is important in what we do as it is customer facing. This is why we want to evolve our digital output to cater for better experiences"
Team Lead
"Our campaign design can be a differentiator to competitor's but I haven't considered how the overall user experience can be"
Product/Brand Manager
"Right now, success is delivering in a timeframe that is fast. Ultimately, I want design to be a core functionality of our team"
Team Lead
"Building products and services that are easy to maintain and scale. Right now, we don't have that"
Developer
To me, the solution was clear
But I had some convincing to do
The design system’s success depended on stakeholder buy-in. I translated its value into clear, measurable outcomes presenting the plan of a design system to support their digital efforts. Values were tailored to the team(s) I was presenting to.
Reduced budget spend
A design system would reduce the majority of custom work, meaning the budget they spend on an agency for design purposes would be significantly reduced
Time-to-market
As the system will be created ahead of project work, we can quickly implement new campaigns and updates, adapt to competitor movement, and launch faster
Better business outcomes
Through implementing best practices and user testing, we can improve KPI's such as conversions, sign ups etc.
Guiding principles
With the go-ahead for a design system, I focused on strong foundations—prioritising a scalable solution over quick wins. I defined core principles, audited existing interfaces, and mapped a component hierarchy using Atomic Design.
Stakeholder Workshop
Define guiding principles
Audit existing interfaces
Identify core library
The design process started small by mapping out design tokens through primitive/semantic labelling. These were then applied to small elements such as buttons, inputs and controls. These elements were then used to create larger components and templates.
#006CFF
(raw)
blue-300
(primitive)
primary-300
(semantic)
button-Primary-Default
(component)
Button
(result)
Tokens structure
Mapping tokens to each brand style guide
Collaborating with the dev team, we aligned on a four-phase development roadmap. Once components were documented in Figma, weekly check-ins, ad-hoc iteration, (more) documentation, and occasional live design sessions kept momentum and prevented roadblocks.
Project timeline
Completed
Setup & Tokens
Elements
Components
Templates
4 month timeline prior to launch
To keep the system purposeful, a centralised governance model was agreed with the dev team. Both teams would assess whether new requests were reusable or 'snowflakes'. Approved additions/edits became tickets and added to the backlog. Monthly syncs tracked progress and aligned future priorities.
The backlog allows us to monitor progress
1 reminder
Design System Monthly Sync
Now
Join call
Each month we decided what went into each scrum
Houston, we have lift off!
Though early-stage, the first release proved foundational establishing core patterns, validating cross-team collaboration, and setting a precedent for scalable design practices across the organization.
Testing
While launching the design system, we had to account for a diverse user base not just the end-user. Usability issues quickly surfaced from agency partners, so we ran an anonymous survey to uncover gaps. The feedback revealed three key themes highlighting system blind spots.
"I don't think I have any doubts about the system. I'm sure a lot of thought, time and effort went into the creation this system, I am just not a fan of the lack of flexibility"
"Being locked behind an system such as this removes many of the tools we need to bring forth a compelling and unique brand style"
"A collaborative step where we can identify a brand's unique design challenges, and how to address them beyond redesigning content to fit a pre-made template"
From there, I held an internal brainstorming session with team members during which various ideas were born for each topic. With refinements and updates to processes, an actionable backlog of tasks and updates was created.
Figjam brainstorming session
We then presented the key issues and our proposed solutions to demonstrate we were listening. The positive response not only built trust with brands and agencies but also increased visibility of the design system. We continue to conduct this survey each year.
Improved documentation
More component options
Better communication
Slide deck presented to stakeholders
User testing
Integrating user testing strengthened our confidence in design decisions, but the process was challenging. Strict regulations made direct patient outreach difficult, and securing funding for testing software added delays.
Unlike other industries, we couldn’t contact customers (patients or doctors) directly. Aware of this limitation, we opted for unmoderated testing initially. While some messaging or imagery required adjustment, testing with real users was still far more valuable than not testing altogether.
After selecting a UT tool, we ran trial tests to understand the capabilities and identified how we could use them to our advantage. Guides were created for each test type and best practices were documented to ensure consistency, streamline future testing, and onboard team members efficiently.
While, we have bridged the gap and conducted interviews/tests with real customers, there is still work to be done in this area.
Documentation of our testing guidelines
Heat map from a key functionality test
The design system today
Brands served
Active users (Int/Ext)
More than a design system
Shift in perspective
After building the design system and operations from the ground up, design is now a valued function alongside other core teams.
In-house team
Social Media
SEO/SEM
Data Analytics
Mkt. Automation
Design
Team expansion
As demand for design grew, I was advocating for the team to grow. In 2023, we expanded from 1 to 3. This allowed us to scale operations, increase output, and finally implement overdue processes like user testing. My role shifted from predominantly being an IC to becoming a leader with a focus on design strategy and the long term vision for design at Grifols.
Company impact
As brands recognized our value, we became more involved in strategic conversations, focused on optimizing user experiences, and began handling more design work in-house—significantly reducing agency spend.
Reduction in project cost
Reduction in time-to-market
Saved with in-house design
Expansion
After two years, the system that was initially created to serve brand teams in the commercial area, was established in the company's standard operating procedure (SOP) for web/app services enterprise-wide.
Design System
Commercial
Plasma
2020 - 2023
Design System
Commercial
Plasma
2023 - Present
Reflections
Advocating is just as important as your output
This project taught me how to scale influence beyond design files — building process, creating efficiencies and being responsive helps get others on-board
Collaboration gives you a different perspective
Working with a diverse team broadens your perspective, deepens your skillset, helping you grow through shared knowledge and experience
Don't let perfect get in the way of good
Sometimes progress matters more than a polished design. Prioritising momentum helps keep the project moving toward the bigger picture