Overview

Style once, create everywhere.

AGL is a leading integrated essential service provider, delivering gas, electricity, and telecommunications services to 4.5 million customers across Australia. 

IE was engaged to help AGL develop a new Design Language System (DLS) to create high-quality and consistent experiences for their customers. The intent of the DLS is to act as the bridge to bring cross-functional teams together and collaborate more efficiently and effectively

Challenge

AGL had a plethora of design libraries with multiple teams using various sources for guidance. AGL lacked a single ‘dictionary’ of information, and needed to integrate the new DLS into all of their initiatives, not just isolated projects or channels as had been done in the past. 

IE worked in partnership with AGL to help build and embed an aligned DLS. We assisted AGL to overcome the following pain points:

  • inconsistent digital experience for customers,
  • disjointed cross-functional teams,
  • multiple design libraries and style guides that resulted in inconsistent designs, and
  • duplicated delivery efforts
IE were instrumental in helping us achieve our vision for the design language system. They supplied a unique set of skills to focus on a unique set of problems. A truly excellent team and an excellent outcome for AGL.
AGL CLIENT

Approach

At the outset, we conducted stakeholder interviews with developers, content specialists, brand managers, designers, and leaders. This helped us uncover key insights, pain points, and opportunities, so we could align all stakeholders on a common path forward.

Having undertaken this important foundational work, we introduced design tokens as a tool to create the framework and elements within the DLS.

‍Design Tokens

Design tokens are defined as:

...a raw material or tool used to build more complex elements like assets, components, and patterns. A token stores the core values of UI elements, such as spacing, colour, typography, object styles and more.

Design tokens allow designers and developers at AGL to easily scale and re-use existing work while efficiently applying consistent design decisions across all platforms. The efficiency of tokens enables developers to spend more time on complex development activities, while designers can focus on solving complex customer problems.

Solution

At the end of the process, we aligned stakeholders to create and embed a Design Language System that solves AGL’s pain points. This now gives them a single source of truth for design conventions across all contexts. Further, our content team supported the AGL team in creating documentation for developers and designers outlining how to make use of the DLS. By using tokens as the foundations for the DLS, we have:

  • helped to develop a cohesive and seamless digital experience for AGL’s platforms;
  • improved the scalability of AGL’s digital customer journey, with less effort;
  • contributed to reduced costs by introducing more efficient ways of working;
  • contributed to improved brand recognition and brand equity, thanks to a centralised DLS; and
  • helped teams to focus their time on more complex issues, rather than spending their time re-building and designing assets from scratch.

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