DESIGN SYSTEM
0 -> 1
Role
Product Design Intern
Timeline
June - Aug 2026
Team
Individual
Vossi Design Systems
Skills
UX Research
UX Design
Horizontal Design
Design System
Overview
During my internship on the design systems team, I established an enterprise-wide notification framework and component architecture for CNN’s Vossi design system, standardizing messaging across multi-platform web and mobile experiences. The actual component files and specs are confidential, so this case study focuses on my strategic process, taxonomy, and design.
Email or contact me for more case study details and final project deliverables!
CNN Notifications
Notification patterns at CNN are fragmented, undefined, and inconsistent.
My Role
I owned the end-to-end notification project, driving discovery research, cross-squad alignment, component design, and systems documentation. I partnered closely with Growth, Core Web, and Content Design teams to align user attention levels, editorial constraints, and technical feasibility.
Deliverables
Conducted a live product audit across CNN platforms and enterprise design systems
Redefine notifications and classification
Gain context from meetings with content design, engineering, and other design teams
Built production-ready Figma components with responsive variants and WCAG AA accessibility compliance
Authored pattern documentation in Zeroheight and presented to design leadership
Process
Research
Summary of research methods and discovery
Design
Led iterative component explorations, stress-testing variants across web and native squads to establish a cohesive, universal design.
EARLY CONSIDERATIONS
Impact & Results
Built out entirely new notification system
Reduced notification variants by 65%, addressed in 6+ use cases
Updated documentation from 2 older components to 7 new components + notifications patterns page
Standardizing across platforms
Positive feedback and reactions from Design Systems team, CNN Product Design, and CNN Product Design Leadership
Reflection
Designing for a foundational system taught me that true scalability comes from restraint rather than complexity. I learned how to move beyond isolated UI components and instead translate multiple use and edge cases into universal, intuitive patterns. Navigating cross-functional conversations across content, engineering, and product squads deepened my communication fluency, showing me how to balance varied team needs while protecting the simplicity and coherence of the broader design system.
I'm returning as a Fall 2026 intern and hope to continue by shipping and integrating the components into the CNN Design System!
Experiences & Memories
Vossi Design Systems Team!
Intern event and lunches :D
