At IXL Learning, I led the creation of a shared design library and design system to support a rapidly growing set of products and brands. The challenge was maintaining consistency while enabling teams to move quickly across multiple surfaces and audiences.
To address this, I structured the system around atomic design principles, breaking complex UI elements into clearly defined, reusable components. This allowed the team to reason about changes at the smallest possible level, reducing unintended downstream impact and simplifying maintenance as the product evolved.
A concrete example of this approach was the IXL header. By decomposing it into atomic elements such as buttons, icons, and typographic units, we created a flexible structure that could adapt to different contexts without fragmenting the system. Consistent rules around color, spacing, and typography ensured visual cohesion across platforms and devices.
