ANWB Design System
Building a design system (and getting my team to addopt it) while the visual language was still evolving
When I joined ANWB, its three main apps were visually outdated and each product team had its own established way of designing and building the interface.
At the same time, DEPT was developing a new identity for the ANWB brand. The visual language was still evolving, and there wasn’t yet a defined system for translating it into native digital products.
I worked directly with DEPT to explore how the emerging identity should behave in the apps. Together with designers from ANWB’s other two app teams, we turned those decisions into a shared, token-based design system in Figma, defining reusable components and patterns while the visual language itself was still taking shape.
Within Eropuit, I then drove the system from library to adoption, bringing Product and Engineering behind a complete redesign of the app based on the new foundation.
My contribution
Design system architecture
Together with designers from the three app teams, I helped establish the shared Figma foundation for ANWB’s native products, using design tokens, reusable components and patterns to create consistency across the apps.
Brand-to-product translation
I collaborated directly with DEPT to explore how an evolving visual identity could work in native digital products, translating brand principles into practical interface patterns.
Stakeholder alignment
I made the emerging direction tangible for Product, stakeholders and Engineering, helping turn initial resistance to a redesign into support for transforming the product.
System adoption
Within Eropuit, I led the application of the new visual language and design system across the existing product, working with Engineering to turn it into a consistently rebranded app.
The challenge
Modernising the product before all the rules existed
ANWB’s three main apps had evolved over time but no longer reflected the quality or character the organisation wanted its digital products to have.
The need for change became more apparent when ANWB started developing a new brand identity with DEPT. But applying that identity to the apps wasn’t a matter of receiving finished guidelines and updating colours and typography.
The visual language was still being developed, and many of the decisions needed for native digital products hadn’t been made yet.
At the same time, the Product Owners responsible for the apps were reluctant to commit time and development capacity to a redesign.
That meant we had to solve two problems in parallel: figure out what the emerging ANWB identity should mean for digital products, and demonstrate why adopting it was worth the investment.
Building the system while the rules were still evolving
I worked directly with DEPT to understand the thinking behind the emerging identity and explore how those principles could translate to native iOS and Android products.
Because the brand work and our product work were happening in parallel, there wasn’t always a finished guideline to follow. We applied the visual language to real interface problems, discussed what worked with the agency and used those decisions to progressively define how the identity should behave in the apps.
At the same time, I worked with designers from Eropuit, Onderweg and Smart Driver to turn those decisions into a shared Figma design system.
We used design tokens to create a common foundation and added reusable components and patterns as the visual language matured.
The design system therefore wasn’t something we created after the redesign had been figured out. The product exploration, digital interpretation of the brand and design system evolved together.
Sceenshots of the tokens based Figma design system.
Turning an emerging direction into something teams could believe in
Having a design system didn’t automatically mean the product teams wanted to adopt it.
A complete redesign meant investing Product and Engineering capacity in something that wasn’t driven by a new feature or immediate business requirement. Initially, the Product Owners across the apps were resistant to making that investment.
I used the emerging visual direction to make the opportunity tangible rather than arguing for a redesign in the abstract.
By showing how the new identity could transform the actual product — and involving Engineering in how a more systematic approach could improve the way we designed and built interfaces — I was able to build support within my Eropuit team for going further.
Slides of a presentation I created to communicate the direction, demonstrate the redesign and bring Product/stakeholders along.
From shared system to full product adoption
Of the three app teams, Eropuit committed to applying the new direction throughout the product.
I worked with the Product Owner and developers to turn the emerging design system into a complete redesign rather than introducing the new identity gradually through isolated features.
As we applied the system across real product scenarios, I continued creating and contributing components to the shared library and aligning with DEPT where the application of the brand to digital still needed clarification.
The result was a consistent product experience built from the new system rather than a visual layer applied on top of the existing app.
Outcome
Turning an evolving identity into a product teams could actually build
The collaboration with DEPT helped translate ANWB’s emerging brand identity into a visual language that could work across native digital products, while the shared design system gave the three app teams a foundation for applying it consistently.
Within Eropuit, I was able to take that foundation all the way into the product.
What started in an environment where Product was reluctant to invest in a redesign ended with my team committing to a complete transformation of the app, supported by Engineering and built around the new token-based system.
The result was a consistently rebranded Eropuit experience and a more systematic foundation for how the team could design and build future product experiences.
The project also taught me how to work effectively when neither the design direction nor the system is set in stone: using real product problems to help define the system, while using the emerging system to create confidence in where the product could go.
Case studies
ANWB My Account
How I increased product density through cross & upselling by leading the redesign of the My Account environment across the 3 main ANWB apps.
Client: ANWB
Methods: Task analysis, Lo-Fi and Hi-Fi wireframes, prototyping and user testing, visual design.
ANWB Eropuit App
How I increased user satisfaction by optimising the performance of new and existing features in the ANWB Eropuit app.
Client: ANWB
Methods: User survey, competitor analysis, analytics based iterations.
LeasePlan Partner Portal
How I led the UX design for a B2B2C portal, enabling brokers, dealers and franchisees to onboard new customers, configure vehicles and sell lease contracts to SME customers in 30+ countries.
Client: LeasePlan Digital
Methods: User interviews, card sorting analysis, wireframes and mockups, page flows, prototyping, usability testing, design sprint.
FedEx
Recipient Experience
How I improved the recipient experience for 2,2 million engaged users in the US market and other 41 countries by leading the UX design for the iOS and Android apps.
Client: FedEx
Methods: Heuristic evaluation, stakeholder interviews, prototyping and usability testing, visual design.
TNT Design Language
How I led the TNT Design System team, shaping and evolving the TNT design language across all platforms, and helping create a consistent user experience across all touch points.
Client: TNT
Methods: Design System, responsive design, atomic design, workshops.