Why it mattered
As Supply Ontario expanded its digital services, every new product introduced different patterns, components, and accessibility decisions. Without a shared design system, teams repeatedly solved the same problems, collaboration became more difficult, and consistency became harder to maintain across products and vendors.
What changed
A shared design system established a common language for products, teams, and vendors, giving every new initiative a consistent foundation instead of another blank slate.
Guiding Principles
Build once, scale everywhere.
Create shared foundations that reduce duplication and support consistent experiences across products.
Balance consistency with flexibility.
Provide clear standards while allowing teams enough freedom to solve their own product challenges.
Embed accessibility from the start.
Make accessible design the default through shared components, patterns, and guidance.
The outcome
Design became a shared capability rather than a project-by-project effort, helping teams move faster while delivering more consistent and accessible digital experiences.
Shared organizational foundation.
Design became a shared capability instead of a project-by-project effort.
Faster product delivery.
Teams built on established decisions instead of recreating patterns for every initiative.
More confident delivery.
Products, vendors, and designers moved forward with clearer guidance and fewer unknowns.
