Building the foundations for tomorrow: UCalgary launches it’s first unified design system

Have you ever visited a website, read some info and wanted to go further, then clicked a link to sign up, only to land on a registration form or sign-up page, feeling confused because where you are now looks and feels nothing like where you started? Now imagine that multiplied across hundreds of sites. That’s the challenge UCalgary is tackling head-on with the launch of our first-ever unified design system, the UCalgary Design System (UCDS).

Inspired by Ahead of Tomorrow, and part of the One Ucalgary.ca initiative, the Digital Experience Team is launching the UCalgary Design System (UCDS): the University's first unified design system. By ensuring that we offer seamless, consistent and clear branded experiences across all digital touchpoints, we locate community at the centre of all we do. By offering a resource that is standardized, efficient and scalable, we make our processes clearer, simpler, and better than any other university.  

At its heart, the UCDS is about ensuring every digital interaction feels seamless, consistent, and unmistakably UCalgary, reflecting our brand and our values.

What is a design system?

Design systems give an organization the ability to produce consistent digital experiences for their audiences, regardless of the technology powering the interaction or the team or area that is creating that experience. 

They offer a collection of reusable components, patterns, and a structured framework that ensures consistency and efficiency in the design and development of digital products, so that regardless of where in the organization is developing the digital interface, or if a vendor is supporting a digital project, there is a single source of truth empowering the design and development process.

Put simply – they make our online touchpoints look and feel like UCalgary. 

Better, simpler processes. Building a user-centered future. 

Ucalgary.ca is one of the University’s most important interaction points for our current and prospective students, postdocs, faculty, staff, and community. A complex ecosystem of hundreds of websites, apps, and platforms, our public-facing sites on ucalgary.ca serve an estimated 11 million users per year, many of whom interact with us online without ever setting foot on our physical campus. We tell our stories, build our reputation, and communicate our vision through our digital experiences. Our online experiences need to reflect our commitment to community-focused excellence and accessibility, a sense of belonging, where all can thrive.

The reality of our operations is that there are limited resources throughout the university who are specialized in producing and managing digital experience. This means in our current state; many digital services we offer are ‘set and forget’ meaning they receive design and development consultation when they are initially launched but have no ongoing operational support past that. This results in outdated and inconsistent experiences that don’t reflect UCalgary’s commitment to accessibility and excellence. The UCDS offers a solution to this problem, as new systems adopt the design system they will benefit from the dedicated skills of designers and developers and once connected to the central system they can more easily evolve and adapt.

Taking control of our digital future

The world has changed, with the prevalence of more and more digital technologies, our audiences' expectations evolve and so must we. This means that we need to be scalable and agile as an organization. As our digital presence matures, a design system allows us to scale our efforts more easily, ensuring that new and existing products remain consistent as our visual language and audience’s expectations shift and adapt. 

By launching the University’s first unified design system, we take control of our digital future.

Empowering digital operations and driving collaboration 

The shift to provide centralized design architecture means that we empower teams to focus on creativity and audience impact instead of the repetitive tasks, foundational aspects and building blocks of a user interface design. The design system gives everyone a consistent and comprehensive starting point, allowing the time to focus in on the unique challenges of the experience you are building. One of our core values as a university is to celebrate curiosity-driven investigation and foster collaboration so that all can achieve their potential. Our design system becomes a jumping off point for digital teams who drive this value.

If you manage a digital product or platform within UCalgary’s ecosystem, we’d love to hear from you. Join us in shaping the future of UCalgary’s digital experiences, connect with us at digital@ucalgary.ca or explore designsystem.ucalgary.ca.

By starting with a strong foundation, we can achieve more with less—delivering exceptional experiences efficiently and effectively.

One Ucalgary.ca

The UCalgary Design System (UCDS) initiative is just one way we are working to reimagine UCalgary's web experience’s and realize a vision of digital excellence for the future. Learn more about One UCalgary.ca.