Company
ebay
Year
2016
Type
Design System
UX Pattern
ebay’s Human Interface
Group & Design System
*This is the main introduction to ebay’s Design System. Reading this before the other DSL Pattern projects Date & Time, Cards will help you get an understanding of what these types of projects are and how they can serve ebay’s design system.*
eBay's Human Interface Group (HIG) is a hybrid team of designers and engineers that works as an end-to-end team across the organization. We define the interaction standards, design patterns and guidelines for cross-domain product teams.
My Role in HIG
As a designer on the HIG team, I provide user experience aid to other teams and also create and maintain standards for the Design System Library. My responsibilities range from being one of four core designers responsible for creating UX patterns, guidelines and standards for ebay’s Design System Library, being embedded on initiatives as a strategic and concept resource, serve as a designer in an ebay R&D project, and creating strategy and toolsets for domain teams to adopt and rebuild ebay with a new brand expression.
UX Patterns
The DSL houses our library of UX patterns. A design pattern is an
element or behavior within a user interface that solves a specific design
problem and repeats across the product in various contexts
and/or with various content.
Pattern Life Cycle
A pattern, from creation to delivery, goes through
many stages and rounds of contention.
Domain Design teams reach out to HIG
for a pattern or HIG identifies a need.
HIG researches, designs, and iterates to
create rules, guidelines, and specs
for the new pattern.
Once the pattern proposal has been
formulated and vetted, it is ready to
go through review for approval.
Patterns are then published on the DSL
with tools and specs both devs and
designers can work with.
A Pattern is always evolving with the needs of
the user, product, and market standards. It’s
important for HIG to keep an open feedback
loop between us, the designers and also the
developers to maintain quality solutions
and validation.
Pattern Creation Process
Creating a pattern is often a 9-step process.
Conclusion
The DSL has been a tremendous force in the progressive unification
of ebay. HIG and the DSL has become the epicenter of evangelizing design,
interactions and experiences across the org. Other than managing and creating
an ever-changing need for patterns, it is expanding to evangelize ebay’s new
brand expression, global standards, and also Design strategy principles.