2026
Design System, UX, & Visual Explorations
Modern Systems for Modern Stories. How we rebuilt Google Cloud’s foundations to unlock faster, richer storytelling.
Design System, UX, & Visual Explorations
2026
Modern Systems for Modern Stories. How we rebuilt Google Cloud’s foundations to unlock faster, richer storytelling.
Design System, UX, & Visual Explorations
2026
39
system updates to core library
50%
of most used components updated
1st
shared system mental model
~10–15
hours saved per designer per quarter
"It wasn’t just what you delivered but how you delivered it... We’re finally talking about the module system and understanding how that ecosystem works.”
Design Lead, Google Cloud
The Challenge
Modernize the marketing design system and deliver richer, story-driven experiences in time for Cloud Next.
The existing system lagged behind modern brand standards and storytelling needs, often forcing teams into custom work that slowed launches and fractured consistency. With Cloud Next (a high-visibility, global launch for Cloud) just six months away, we seized the moment to strengthen the foundations, streamline workflows, and elevate the quality and cohesion of Cloud’s most important pages.
Discovering Opportunities
We entered our engagement with a series of stakeholder interviews to understand the ecosystem. What was working, what wasn’t and what updates the system users were most excited about.
We used their answers to prioritize and structure the next 3 months of work.
Plan, Design, & Execute
With page-level opportunities defined, we translated storytelling needs into system requirements.
After aligning on the stories we wanted to tell, we focused on the how by aligning the overall look and feel with GM3. We audited the modules required for each page, mapping content to specific modules and evaluating existing components to identify where they could be extended. Where gaps existed, we designed entirely new modules and updated the design foundations to support them, ensuring that each final page acted as a real-world validation of our system decisions across various layouts and use cases.
Produce
As designs moved into engineering, we refined solutions based on CMS constraints, feasibility, and timelines.
Close collaboration during production revealed how system decisions held up in real implementation and exposed deeper patterns in how modules were being used. This phase surfaced a key insight about the system’s next evolution.
Insights
The next unlock isn’t more modules. It’s more flexible ones.
Our investigation revealed how small configuration gaps led to module sprawl, with many similar modules differing only slightly in fields. This made reuse difficult and slowed page creation. While not addressed in this phase, this insight now defines the system’s next evolution. Consolidation over expansion.
Modern Systems for Modern Stories. How we rebuilt Google Cloud’s foundations to unlock faster, richer storytelling.
2026
Design System, UX, & Visual Explorations
Modern Systems for Modern Stories. How we rebuilt Google Cloud’s foundations to unlock faster, richer storytelling.
Design System, UX, & Visual Explorations
2026
Modern Systems for Modern Stories. How we rebuilt Google Cloud’s foundations to unlock faster, richer storytelling.
Design System, UX, & Visual Explorations
2026
39
system updates to core library
50%
of most used components updated
1st
shared system mental model
~10–15
hours saved per designer per quarter
"It wasn’t just what you delivered but how you delivered it... We’re finally talking about the module system and understanding how that ecosystem works.”
Design Lead, Google Cloud
The Challenge
Modernize the marketing design system and deliver richer, story-driven experiences in time for Cloud Next.
The existing system lagged behind modern brand standards and storytelling needs, often forcing teams into custom work that slowed launches and fractured consistency. With Cloud Next (a high-visibility, global launch for Cloud) just six months away, we seized the moment to strengthen the foundations, streamline workflows, and elevate the quality and cohesion of Cloud’s most important pages.
Discovering Opportunities
We entered our engagement with a series of stakeholder interviews to understand the ecosystem. What was working, what wasn’t and what updates the system users were most excited about.
We used their answers to prioritize and structure the next 3 months of work.
Plan, Design, & Execute
With page-level opportunities defined, we translated storytelling needs into system requirements.
After aligning on the stories we wanted to tell, we focused on the how by aligning the overall look and feel with GM3. We audited the modules required for each page, mapping content to specific modules and evaluating existing components to identify where they could be extended. Where gaps existed, we designed entirely new modules and updated the design foundations to support them, ensuring that each final page acted as a real-world validation of our system decisions across various layouts and use cases.
Produce
As designs moved into engineering, we refined solutions based on CMS constraints, feasibility, and timelines.
Close collaboration during production revealed how system decisions held up in real implementation and exposed deeper patterns in how modules were being used. This phase surfaced a key insight about the system’s next evolution.
Insights
The next unlock isn’t more modules. It’s more flexible ones.
Our investigation revealed how small configuration gaps led to module sprawl, with many similar modules differing only slightly in fields. This made reuse difficult and slowed page creation. While not addressed in this phase, this insight now defines the system’s next evolution. Consolidation over expansion.
Modern Systems for Modern Stories. How we rebuilt Google Cloud’s foundations to unlock faster, richer storytelling.
2026
Design System, UX, & Visual Explorations
Modern Systems for Modern Stories. How we rebuilt Google Cloud’s foundations to unlock faster, richer storytelling.
Design System, UX, & Visual Explorations
2026
Modern Systems for Modern Stories. How we rebuilt Google Cloud’s foundations to unlock faster, richer storytelling.
Design System, UX, & Visual Explorations
2026
39
system updates to core library
50%
of most used components updated
1st
shared system mental model
~10–15
hours saved per designer per quarter
"It wasn’t just what you delivered but how you delivered it... We’re finally talking about the module system and understanding how that ecosystem works.”
Design Lead, Google Cloud
The Challenge
Modernize the marketing design system and deliver richer, story-driven experiences in time for Cloud Next.
The existing system lagged behind modern brand standards and storytelling needs, often forcing teams into custom work that slowed launches and fractured consistency. With Cloud Next (a high-visibility, global launch for Cloud) just six months away, we seized the moment to strengthen the foundations, streamline workflows, and elevate the quality and cohesion of Cloud’s most important pages.
Discovering Opportunities
We entered our engagement with a series of stakeholder interviews to understand the ecosystem. What was working, what wasn’t and what updates the system users were most excited about.
We used their answers to prioritize and structure the next 3 months of work.
Plan, Design, & Execute
With page-level opportunities defined, we translated storytelling needs into system requirements.
After aligning on the stories we wanted to tell, we focused on the how by aligning the overall look and feel with GM3. We audited the modules required for each page, mapping content to specific modules and evaluating existing components to identify where they could be extended. Where gaps existed, we designed entirely new modules and updated the design foundations to support them, ensuring that each final page acted as a real-world validation of our system decisions across various layouts and use cases.
Produce
As designs moved into engineering, we refined solutions based on CMS constraints, feasibility, and timelines.
Close collaboration during production revealed how system decisions held up in real implementation and exposed deeper patterns in how modules were being used. This phase surfaced a key insight about the system’s next evolution.
Insights
The next unlock isn’t more modules. It’s more flexible ones.
Our investigation revealed how small configuration gaps led to module sprawl, with many similar modules differing only slightly in fields. This made reuse difficult and slowed page creation. While not addressed in this phase, this insight now defines the system’s next evolution. Consolidation over expansion.