Creating a Global Design System at Coca-Cola

COMPANY: Coca-Cola ROLE: Strategic Lead, UX Researcher & Design Contributor MY TEAM: UX Researchers, UX Designers, BI Developer

Making global business reporting intuitive, engaging and scalable.

The Challenge

After launching Coca-Cola’s global knowledge and insights platform ‘SIMON,’ a surge of diverse content led to inconsistent report design, duplication of effort, and barriers to data literacy across global teams. Coca-Cola needed a scalable, easy-to-use design system to improve user experience, reduce development overhead and reinforce the SIMON brand as the trusted home of insights.

My Role

I led the strategic development and global rollout of the design system - from initial vision to system architecture, brand alignment, and implementation support. My responsibilities included:

  • Defining the vision and purpose of the system aligned with business and user goals

  • Developing the component structure with a focus on accessibility and data clarity

  • Co-creating templates with UX designers and BI developers to ensure technical feasibility

  • Establishing governance and documentation to support long-term scalability

  • Driving adoption across teams through enablement, onboarding, and stakeholder management

Working with the Lead Developer and UX Designer, I shaped the system's structure and standards, created early prototypes, and worked closely with technical teams to translate user needs into scalable components.

Research & Validation

To ensure the system was rooted in real user needs, I oversaw a UX research programme in collaboration with our design team. This included:

  • Heuristic evaluations of existing reports

  • Stakeholder interviews across markets and functions

  • Usability testing of early prototypes

I also personally facilitated several user interviews and usability tests, giving me first-hand insight into the challenges people faced when navigating business reports. These insights were critical in shaping decisions around layout, navigation, and visual hierarchy.

I facilitated interviews across 9 different markets and with a variety of participants from across the Coca-Cola business.

Outputs from the usability test noting user questions, comments and pain points. [Blurred for confidentiality].

The Solution

We created a modular design system and reporting template that could be rolled out globally, featuring:

  • A reusable, branded report template

  • A component library for data visualisation (e.g., charts, filters, cards)

  • Standardised layout and interaction patterns

  • Comprehensive governance and documentation for global teams

Image showing examples of standardised components and design improvements in the SIMON design system.

Standardised components, colour palettes, page layouts and accessibility improvements that featured within the SIMON design system.

Developer Documentation: Example of 2 sections of the Power BI template, with components built in for immediate use and instructions on design standards, including font sizing, page layout/structure and button states.

Before & After

Before and After: Example of a report that was updated using the design system [data blurred for confidentiality].

The Impact

01

Improved data literacy, with users reporting greater clarity and ease of use

02

Stronger brand recognition for SIMON as a trusted insights platform

03

Faster report development, saving time and reducing duplication

04

A foundation for scalable future enhancements to the reporting experience

In a survey following the roll out and implementation of the design system, 79% of SIMON users agreed "SIMON helps me to understand business performance", a +14% increase vs. the previous year.

The standardised design resulted in an increase in recognition and trust for the SIMON brand across the organisation, with users increasing by 45% vs. previous year to almost 5000 (H1 2024).

Lessons Learnt

This project reinforced the power of combining strategic leadership with close collaboration. Key takeaways included:

  • How to scale a design system across diverse global teams

  • The importance of embedding UX research - even in internal tools

  • The value of co-creating with developers and designers early and often

  • How to drive adoption not just through governance, but through advocacy, training, and empathy