Black Stream

Design Systems

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Project Definition

Amused Group operates six distinct betting brands under one umbrella. Each has a different target audience, voice, and visual identity. They all needed to feel unique, but also draw from the same underlying UI framework to reduce waste and increase delivery speed.

When I joined, I took the initiative to audit the entire design system landscape. I identified fragmentation issues, made strategic recommendations, built out a new system from scratch, and then maintained the rest. I also mentored junior designers across the group, helping them work within a more structured, scalable design approach.

Audit & Recommendations

The design systems in use had grown ad hoc. Multiple teams had created overlapping components, naming was inconsistent, and usage across products varied. There was no clear publishing model and no single source of truth.

My audit revealed the following issues:

  • More components duplicated across files and brands with minor tweaks
  • Designers reluctant to use existing assets due to confusion or lack of trust
  • New brand launches requiring ground-up design work
  • Limited documentation, making onboarding difficult

Recommendations:

  • Create a modular core system that could be themed per brand
  • Rationalise naming and structure across all libraries
  • Set up a centralised Figma workspace with versioning and release notes
  • Define a publishing and review process to control quality
  • Embed documentation directly inside Figma for easy access

System Rebuild & Brand Architecture

I fully rebuilt one of the brand design systems from the ground up. This included creating a complete atomic library in Figma, establishing visual theming through tokens, and documenting key usage patterns across menus, navigation, typography, and form elements.

  • Features:
  • Fully responsive menu components with interaction states and variants
  • Branded token layers allowing easy theme switching
  • Embedded guidance across all components for junior team use
  • Mobile-first patterns that could flex for desktop or tablet use
  • The system became the model for the other five brands, which I maintained and gradually aligned to the new shared structure.

Team Support & Mentorship

Alongside hands-on system work, I provided day-to-day design guidance across all six brands.

  • This included:
  • Mentoring junior designers on how to use, extend, and publish components
  • Reviewing their work for consistency and flagging risks
  • Running informal training sessions on Figma best practices
  • Helping bridge conversations between designers and developers to ensure feasibility

The Impact

The rebuilt structure improved speed, consistency, and overall team confidence.

  • Reduced duplicate components across brands by over half
  • Improved component adoption across teams and faster time to market
  • Easier onboarding for new designers and brand teams
  • More consistent UX across platforms without flattening brand voice