Improving the technical experience through design
The client, a Fortune 500 company, sought a structured approach to assess their documentation materials, processes, and platforms. Their goal was to establish a scalable framework that introduces consistency in technical documentation while ensuring alignment with branding standards. By creating accessible, repeatable patterns, the organization aimed to improve how data and answers were shared across teams.
Design Work Needed
Fragmentation was a significant challenge—the organization’s various groups operated independently across multiple platforms, leading to a lack of uniformity in documentation. Efforts ranged from loosely following brand templates to completely bespoke resources compiled from external sources, leading to inconsistencies in presentation, accessibility, and usability.
The central question driving this project was: Can design system principles be effectively applied to technical documentation, and will they provide tangible benefits?
Process for the Work
As the Experience Design Lead, I orchestrated a 2-day hybrid workshop with the internal team and stakeholders to explore solutions and define a structured approach.
Key Phases and Actions Taken:- Information Architecture Strategy: Established clear guidance on content structuring, ensuring scalability and repeatability in documentation efforts.
- Pattern Development for Extensibility: Designed modular templates for technical content, improving accessibility and consistency across platforms.
- Digital Branding Adaptation: Analyzed existing branding guidelines and demonstrated how they could be extended into the wiki environment for visual coherence.
- Design System for Documentation Assets: Developed a cohesive system for diagrams, tables, roadmaps, and other visual elements—streamlining creation with easy-to-use components.
Designed Solution
The final framework provided a ground-up, scalable approach to technical documentation:
- Unified branding application—ensuring consistency across platforms and documentation types.
- Predefined templates and components—giving authors an efficient way to generate content while maintaining brand alignment.
- Improved accessibility and clarity—employing design principles that make complex diagrams and data presentations easy to interpret.
This structured effort not only enhanced documentation practices but also empowered teams to maintain standardized, easily reproducible materials that aligned with both usability needs and organizational goals.
Valuable Learnings
This initiative reinforced the value of early stakeholder alignment, cross-team collaboration, and structured design system implementation in technical spaces. The experience highlighted that applying UX and branding principles to documentation can vastly improve clarity, consistency, and usability.
There’s more to this story and I’d love to tell you about it. Get in touch with me for more information.