To successfully design and implement a customized design system for CUE, I began by conducting a comprehensive discovery phase. Given that CUE was operating under the broader umbrella of Stagwell Marketing, and initially had a very limited visual identity (a single purple tone plus grayscale), the process required both strategic adaptation and creative innovation. Here's how I approached it:

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1. Audit of Existing Design Assets and Systems

I started with a full audit of the current SMC design system to understand the existing structure, components, token architecture, and usage guidelines. This helped identify reusable patterns and components that could be directly adopted or adapted for CUE.

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2. Stakeholder Interviews and Workshops

I conducted interviews and working sessions with key stakeholders—including product managers, engineers, brand leads, and marketing teams—to gather insights on:

• The product’s purpose and vision

• Target users and their needs

• Technical constraints and platform requirements

• Business goals and brand positioning

These sessions helped clarify where the existing SMC design system aligned with CUE’s needs and where deviations or customizations were necessary.

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3. User Research & UX Analysis

Although the project was in early stages, I reviewed any available user data and usability reports to identify pain points, accessibility considerations, and opportunities to improve interaction flows. When data was limited, I collaborated with UX researchers to run lightweight testing or user interviews to fill the gaps.

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4. Brand Identity Alignment

Given that CUE’s brand was still nascent, I worked closely with the brand team to define how its personality could be expressed visually—beyond just the purple color. We explored tone, typography, iconography, motion, and micro-interactions to inject more character into the product without deviating too far from SMC’s parent style.

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5. Technical & Platform Requirements

Working closely with front-end developers, I reviewed the technical stack and design implementation pipeline (e.g., component libraries, tokens, Storybook, etc.) to ensure that whatever was designed could be effectively translated into code and maintained at scale.

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6. Competitive & Comparative Analysis

I reviewed other tools in the same product space to evaluate design trends, common interaction models, and branding strategies. This helped ensure that the CUE design system remained competitive and user-friendly while staying true to its unique identity.