Project / Mobile Design System

Client / Verizon

Roll / Art Director, Lead Product Designer

Year / 2012-2013

Insight

In 2012, AKQA was chosen as Verizon’s digital agency to overhaul their presence across mobile, e-commerce, and in-store platforms. As digital touchpoints became core to how customers interacted with the brand, Verizon saw the need for a unified, human-centered experience—designed to strengthen recognition, build trust across platforms, and make every interaction more intuitive.

Project

Led the design of Verizon’s first mobile design system, built to support iOS, Android, Windows, and Blackberry. Delivered as a comprehensive resource for design and engineering teams, it included downloadable assets, code libraries, and a web-based reference site for component guidance.

Challenge

To be effective at scale, the system had to be simple, clear, and immediately useful, something teams across Verizon, external vendors, and partners could adopt quickly and apply confidently in real product work.

Approach

We focused on building a system teams would actually want to use, easy to adopt, rich in guidance, and complete with all the core assets needed for designers, developers, and product managers. From flexible component libraries to fully designed app examples and a browsable web reference, the system was designed for real-world product workflows, not just documentation.

Key Features

The design system included modular UI components, platform-specific patterns, and flexible layouts tailored for iOS, Android, Windows, and Blackberry. Each element came with design specs, code snippets, and usage guidelines, making handoff seamless for development. A centralized web portal made it easy for any team to find, understand, and implement the system with minimal friction.

Bringing the System to Life

To bring the system into practice, we designed example screens for Verizon’s core apps, Maps, Music, My Verizon, Cloud, and more. These were shared as downloadable assets and integrated into the design site, giving teams ready-to-use patterns and user flows. This made the system easy to adopt and apply consistently across platforms from day one.

Collaboration & Process

This work was the result of close collaboration across design, engineering, and product teams. We ran cross-functional workshops, identified shared pain points, and prioritized the most critical use cases. By validating early and building with reuse in mind, we created a system that supported day-one needs while remaining extensible as products evolved.

Platform Expansion & Systems Leadership

To scale Verizon’s mobile design system across its ecosystem, we rolled out platform support in phases, starting with Windows, then iPhone, followed by iPad, Android, and Blackberry. I led the design direction across this expansion, ensuring consistency while adapting to each OS’s unique needs.

By streamlining processes, we cut delivery time in half during the final phases, enabling a fast transition to iOS 7’s flat UI and completing Blackberry in just two months. I also extended the system’s reach to web and mobile web, and became a central resource for teams across the agency, supporting adoption, guiding implementation, and reinforcing a unified digital brand.

Impact

The result was a system that quickly gained traction across Verizon’s ecosystem. Product teams were able to onboard faster, external partners aligned more easily, and the consistency across apps and platforms noticeably improved. By embedding clarity and flexibility into every component, the system became a trusted foundation for scaling Verizon’s mobile experience.