Sears Pattern Library

 
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Brief

One of the foundations of a strong user experience and solid UI design is the presence of a design system. A design system creates not only brand consistency across experiences but creates interaction consistency for the users. This consistency stabilizes experiences so that users aren’t having to constantly guess how to interact or what the next step would be. I got my start in UX by being a member of the Sears Pattern Library team. By getting my start with this team I learned the following which has helped to drive my career:

  1. I learned about the importance of consistency for user experiences.

  2. I learned about fundamental user interactions, best practices, and designing and defining the standards that surround them.

  3. I learned the importance of understanding the why behind an interaction.

  4. I learned a new UX philosophy: sometimes it’s not always about making it beautiful, it’s about making sure it works, users understand it, and they want/need it.

My role with this team was to conduct pattern research, understand use cases, understand best practices and industry standards, design, validate, document, and socialize patterns. I also worked heavily in understanding and educating designers on the importance and guidelines of WCAG 2.0 ADA compliance.

 

Process

01. Discovery + research
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The discovery and research of the patterns were the most important step in the pattern definition process. This is where I learned why the pattern was important, the use case for the pattern, industry standard, and best practices. I leveraged competitive analysis, designer interviews, and Baymard research. I also leaned into WCAG 2.0 ADA standards to ensure we maintained compliance while defining the patterns.

02. DESIGN
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For the design portion, I worked to take the research I conducted and define and design out all the different aspects of the pattern: error states, successes, disabled, etc. This allowed me to take the pattern and work with other designers to understand if it meets the needs of the customer and the use cases they are trying to solve.

03. DOCUMENTATION
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Documentation is one of the most important parts of the process. This is the part where I pulled the research, rationale, use cases, the dos and don’ts of using the pattern, and the specs into one cohesive document for designers to reference. The specs allow designers to understand consistent spacing, text size, and interactions.

04. SOCIALIZATION
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Socialization was one of the most challenging parts of the process. Once a pattern was defined, it was up to me and the team to socialize the pattern and documentation to the larger UX organization. This allows us to evangelize and advocate for the design system, answer questions, and ensure designers had a complete understanding of the pattern.