A Greener Click: Designing Symbiotic UX for a Sustainable Digital Future

Greener Click

Published on 27 Apr 2025 | By Aashish Manchanda, Senior Product Designer, Cisco Systems



As UX designers, we often focus on creating delightful digital experiences. But what if these experiences could also make a measurable impact on environmental sustainability?

Through my recent research, I explored the concept of AI-powered symbiotic interfaces—intelligent systems that collaborate with users to enable informed, sustainable decision-making. The findings were powerful: when designed intentionally, such interfaces led to a 30% reduction in energy usage, a 45% decrease in unnecessary data processing, and a noticeable improvement in user satisfaction.


The Hidden Footprint of Digital Interactions

Today, every digital click, scroll, or stream comes with a hidden cost—contributing to global carbon emissions through energy-intensive infrastructure. Yet, 85% of users in our study underestimated their digital carbon footprint.

This knowledge gap became our design challenge: how might we make digital environmental impact more visible—and actionable—through interface design?


Research Methodology

Our study employed a comprehensive mixed-methods approach:

  • Quantitative Analysis: Surveys with 500 participants across different demographics

  • Qualitative Insights: 30 in-depth interviews with industry experts

  • Usability Testing: 10 detailed testing sessions with prototype interfaces

  • Focus Groups: Multiple sessions with diverse stakeholder groups

Research Methodology


Participant Demographics

We carefully curated five multidisciplinary teams, with representation from general users, UX designers, industry experts, and academics.


Team

Participant ID

Role

Age

Background

Team 1

P1–P3

General Users, UX Designers

25–28

Limited to moderate awareness of sustainable design

Team 2

P4–P6

Industry Experts, General User

27–32

AI in renewable energy, waste solutions

Team 3

P7–P9

Academic, Industry Expert

26–30

AI in climate modeling, HCI research

Team 4

P10–P12

UX Designer, Academic

27–35

Urban planning tools, green IT

Team 5

P13–P15

UX Designer, General User, Academic

29–34

Accessibility, digital minimalism


Key Findings

Behavioral Shift Through Awareness

  • 85% of participants reported increased awareness after seeing their digital footprint

  • 70% adopted at least one eco-friendly digital behavior (e.g., turning off auto-sync, limiting high-res streams)

  • “If I could see how much energy my actions consume, I’d be motivated to change my habits.” – P8, General User


Reimagining Design Systems as Evolving Products

Reimagining Design Systems as Evolving Products

Published on 26 Apr 2025 | Author Zilin Zhou (PayPal)

As a product designer, I’ve experienced firsthand how rigid design systems can slow down innovation and limit creative problem-solving. This article explores how rethinking design systems as evolving products—rather than fixed libraries—can transform the way designers work. When designers take ownership of the system, they become active contributors to its growth. By validating new ideas through experimentation and partnering closely with cross-functional teams, designers can ensure the system continues to serve both business objectives and customer needs. This shift in mindset reduces bottlenecks, fosters innovation, and enables the creation of experiences that truly adapt to an ever-changing industry.

Working as a product designer in the tech industry, I interact with design systems daily. Early in my career, I viewed the design system as a static library—a convenient collection of components to drag into my design file and use as needed. Similarly, when I needed guidance, I treated the system as a reference book, consulting it for rules to ensure I adhered to established standards. While this approach often worked, it wasn’t foolproof. There were moments of frustration when I couldn’t find the component I needed, or the guidance required to meet my design objectives. Those “anxiety moments” often led to a compromise: either I would abandon my original idea and look for alternative solutions within the system or find myself limited by its constraints, unable to craft something unique and truly user centered.

This struggle is not mine alone—it’s a challenge many designers face. A design system that feels rigid or incomplete can make designers feel constrained, forcing them to choose between two undesirable paths: abandoning innovative ideas to work strictly within the system’s boundaries or submitting requests for new components or updates, only to have progress slowed by approval processes and bureaucratic delays. These barriers stifle creativity, reduce efficiency, and make it harder to design exceptional experiences. But what if the design system could be more than a limitation? What if it were reimagined as a living, evolving product—one that empowers designers rather than restricts them?


Rethinking the Role of the Design System

 More Than Just Libraries, They’re Evolving Products

A common assumption is to view a design system as merely a static library of components or a reference book for guidelines. A design system is much more dynamic - it's a product that supports and enhances the broader product ecosystem. Like any other product, a design system requires ongoing updates, validation, and evolution to stay relevant and effective, and can be evaluated by a standard iterative product development cycle that includes four primary stages. These stages are User Research, Design, Testing, and Refinement, and are illustrated in Figure 1.

Design System

Figure 1

To ensure that a design system remains functional, scalable, and aligned with broader product objectives, it must follow a structured product development cycle consisting of four primary steps: Research, Design, Testing, and Refinement. This iterative approach allows teams to continuously improve and adapt the system, making it a powerful foundation for product development.

Step1: Research – The foundation of any effective design system lies in understanding the needs of its users. This involves gathering feedback from designers, engineers, and other stakeholders, as well as analyzing business goals and customer requirements. Research helps identify gaps in the system and surfaces opportunities for improvement.

Step 2: Design – Once needs are identified, the next step is to brainstorm solutions. This might include designing new components, refining interaction patterns, or updating branding elements to align with evolving business and user needs.

Step 3: Testing – Validation is crucial for ensuring that new additions or changes serve their purpose effectively. Designers can use sandbox testing—a-controlled environment to prototype and experiment—to validate their ideas with data and user feedback.

Step 4: Refinement – The design system evolves by learning from testing. Incorporating insights and iterating ensures that updates are not only functional but also optimized for real-world applications. This cycle of continuous improvement keeps the design system flexible, relevant, and aligned with the broader product goals.


When a design system is viewed as a constantly evolving product, it empowers designers to contribute meaningfully, propose innovative solutions, and ensure the system remains relevant and adaptable. Understanding how a design system works is critical. Many designers begin by brainstorming ideas and iterating on concepts, hoping to integrate them into the design library. However, they often overlook a key principle: a design system doesn’t exist to support a single idea or product. It must be unified, mature, and flexible enough to accommodate a wide range of use cases.


3 Months free IxDX membership for UX designers


Similar like building a product, changes to a design system require an iterative process. They start small, evolve through prototypes, and are refined through rigorous testing and research before reaching their final form. Every addition to the design system—no matter how simple or complex—must align with this process to ensure it serves a broader purpose.


Take, for example, a single icon created for a specific use case. While the designer's immediate need may be narrow, once that icon is added to the design library, it must function across multiple use cases, ensuring consistency throughout the product ecosystem. The same principle applies to more complex contributions, such as new interaction patterns or motion icons, which introduce an additional layer of dynamic engagement. As technology evolves, motion design plays an increasingly vital role in enhancing usability, guiding user interactions, and adding personality to digital experiences.


Design systems must keep pace with these rapid technological advancements to remain relevant and effective. Emerging technologies, changing user expectations, and new interaction paradigms constantly reshape how products are designed and experienced. This is why designers need to adopt a broader mindset when approaching problems. They must think beyond their immediate needs, considering the larger scope of the design system and its impact on the overall product experience. By doing so, designers can help create a system that not only meets individual requirements but also adapts to innovation, supports scalability, and maintains cohesion across the entire product suite.


Everyone’s Responsibility

A common assumption is that the design system team alone owns and manages the system. Many designers assume that responsibility lies solely with the team building or maintaining the system. While the design system team plays a critical role in its governance and upkeep, the reality is much broader: everyone shares responsibility for the success of the design system.


To understand this better, think of a company. While a CEO plays a pivotal role in driving a company forward, the organization’s success ultimately depends on the collective efforts of every individual. The same principle applies to design systems. While there are specific teams tasked with maintaining and evolving the system, every designer, developer, and stakeholder has a role to play in contributing to its growth and relevance. By taking shared responsibility, designers help ensure the system reflects real-world needs and remains a source of innovation rather than a limitation.

But how can designers actively help a design system evolve? The answer lies in balancing the needs of the business with those of the customer.


Balancing Business and Customer Needs

The evolution of a design system should be driven by two primary factors: business needs and customer needs.

From a business perspective, design systems must continuously adapt to shifting strategies, goals, and market conditions. Whether a company undergoes a branding refresh, expands into new product lines, or integrates cutting-edge technologies, the design system must evolve in tandem. A well-maintained design system not only ensures brand and experience consistency but also reduces design time, accelerates development cycles, and lowers costs by minimizing redundant work. Additionally, as businesses navigate economic fluctuations and industry shifts, a flexible design system allows teams to quickly respond to changing priorities without requiring large-scale redesign efforts.


Equally important are customer needs. A successful design system is not just reactive but proactively integrates new interactions, motion designs, and emerging patterns that align with user behaviors and expectations. For example, as users become accustomed to more fluid and animated digital experiences, motion elements and micro-interactions can enhance usability and engagement. If data indicates that a new interaction pattern improves accessibility or simplifies a workflow, designers must collaborate to test, validate, and implement these updates efficiently within the system.


By staying adaptable, a well-evolved design system reduces friction, improves scalability, and ensures that both business objectives and user expectations are met—ultimately driving innovation while optimizing resources. 


How Designers Can Help the System Evolve

Sandbox Testing: A Practical Method for Evolution

The key to evolving a design system is validating new ideas through experimentation. Sandbox testing is a structured methodology that includes prototype creation, iterative evaluation, and refinement before full implementation. It provides a controlled environment where designers and engineers can test interactions, explore new components, and gather feedback without affecting live user data. Unlike traditional usability testing, sandbox testing offers flexibility to refine ideas early, reducing risk while ensuring consistency and data-driven improvements.


1. Identify the Need

The first step is to clearly define the need and scope of the new interaction or component. Designers should assess whether the proposed element addresses a specific use case or serves a broader application. If it is for a limited use case, they should evaluate how essential it is in improving the overall customer experience—categorizing it as a "must-have," "nice-to-have," or "optional." Collaborating with the design system team at this stage helps clarify priorities and scope, ensuring alignment before development begins.


2. Develop a Prototype

Create a prototype or test environment that demonstrates the new feature or interaction. This step often involves collaboration with stakeholders to craft a unique testing scenario that mimics real-world usage. Prototypes should be as close to the intended implementation as possible to gather accurate feedback.

    

3 Months free IxDX membership for UX designers



3. Gather Feedback

Test the prototype with real users or through internal reviews, collecting both qualitative and quantitative data. User testing, stakeholder input, and usability assessments are essential at this stage to understand the feature's impact on user experience and how it aligns with business needs.


4. Analyze and Refine

Use the feedback gathered during testing to refine the component or interaction. Designers should partner with researchers to analyze the data and evaluate whether the new element significantly improves the user experience. Insights from this phase can guide iterative updates to enhance the feature.


5. Decide on Adoption

Based on the results, determine whether the feature should be integrated into the design system. If the data and user experience improvements are positive, the next step is to plan the rollout within the design system. If the results are inconclusive or negative, consider further iteration or shelving the idea. By following this structured approach, sandbox testing ensures that new components or interactions are thoughtfully vetted, aligned with both user and business goals, and ready to enhance the design system effectively.


Collaboration is Key

Success is rarely achieved in isolation, and this holds especially true for design systems. Collaboration with cross-functional stakeholders is essential to a design system's evolution. Whether its planning sandbox testing or validating a design idea, effective teamwork drives progress and ensures the system continues to meet user and business needs.


Product managers provide clarity on business goals and priorities, engineers ensure technical feasibility and performance optimization, and UX researchers offer data-driven insights grounded in real-world user behavior. When these disciplines work together, design teams can move beyond merely seeking approval for changes. Instead, they can actively drive innovation as proactive partners in the product development process.

A collaborative approach also empowers designers to present well-supported recommendations to leadership, foster alignment across teams, and promote a culture of continuous improvement. By adopting a team-first mindset, designers will find that implementing changes and improvements becomes not only more efficient but also less siloed, leading to a stronger, more adaptable design system.


 Being Bold and Driving Change

A design system that is embraced as a shared, evolving product becomes a platform for innovation rather than an obstacle. Designers should feel empowered to propose bold ideas and validate them through quantitative metrics and qualitative feedback, ensuring updates align with both business objectives and user needs. When teams actively contribute and take ownership, the design system remains adaptive, relevant, and capable of delivering exceptional experiences in a rapidly evolving industry.


Being bold is essential to driving meaningful change. Designers must advocate for improvements, experiment fearlessly, and embrace iteration. Innovation thrives when teams challenge the status quo, push boundaries, and learn from setbacks. The best products are born from a mindset of continuous evolution—where bold ideas shape the future with confidence.


Conclusion

Design systems are not merely a list of guidelines or UI components; they are living, evolving products that require constant care, collaboration, and iteration. More than just a reference library, a design system should be intentionally designed to adapt to emerging trends, technological advancements, and evolving business needs. Treating the design system as a product means actively refining it—ensuring it reduces design time, accelerates development, and lowers business costs while maintaining consistency across a product suite.


By embracing shared responsibility, leveraging sandbox testing, and collaborating boldly with stakeholders, designers create a more efficient, scalable process that delivers better user experiences and drives business success. As AI-driven tools increasingly integrate into design workflows, future-ready design systems can further streamline decision-making, automate routine tasks, and unlock new possibilities for innovation. When treated as a collaborative and adaptable platform, the design system becomes a catalyst for progress—not just a set of rules, but a foundation for the future of design.


Author's Bio

Zilin Zhou ( Jason )  Product Designer  PayPal

Zilin Zhou ( Jason )
Product Designer
PayPal
Hello! My name is Zilin. I am a product designer at PayPal building human-centered experiences to positively impact people's lives. My overall goals are to utilize the power of design to connect concepts, cultural moments, and people in a compelling way. I tend to look for inspiration from observation, conversation, and formal design research to stretch my perspective. I tend to look for inspiration from observation, conversation, and formal design research to stretch my perspective.



Further readings

Top Design Entrance Exams in India
Design Thinking Workshop - Complete Guide 
7 principles of UX design for innovative AI solutions 

3 Months free IxDX membership for UX designers

The Impact of Visual Hierarchy in Modern UI Design

Visual Hierarchy in Modern UI Design

Updated on 24 April 2025

In the modern fast-paced digital world, users make instantaneous judgments regarding whether to remain on a website or abandon it. One of the most important determinants of this judgment is visual hierarchy, which is a basic principle of contemporary UI design. Visual hierarchy is the organization and presentation of design elements in a manner that suggests significance and leads users toward intended actions. From typography and colour schemes to layout and spacing, all the visual decisions make their own contribution towards how well information is conveyed.


With increasingly complex digital interfaces and higher expectations from users, it is more important than ever to master visual hierarchy. Not only does it guarantee an attractive appearance, but it also guarantees usability and user interaction. Being a UI/UX designer is a goal for many, and for that purpose, visual hierarchy is an essential skill to know, and taking a good visual design course can be the first step in learning it.


What is Visual Hierarchy?

Visual hierarchy is the process by which the designer orders interface items to indicate relative importance. Through carefully applying design methods like size, color, contrast, alignment, and spacing, designers are able to guide the user's focus to critical content areas, including navigation menus, call-to-action buttons, and product features.


For example, headlines are usually larger and more prominent than body text, grabbing the user's attention first. Likewise, a highly visible CTA button on a neutral background will stand out right away, encouraging user engagement.


Why Visual Hierarchy Matters in UI Design

In user interface design, the aim is to achieve an intuitive, seamless user experience. Visual hierarchy is responsible for:

  • Enhancing usability: Organized visual elements minimize cognitive load and allow users to find information easily.
  • Improving user engagement: Strategic attention direction increases the likelihood of users engaging with items that serve business objectives, like completing a form or buying something.
  • Creating aesthetic balance: A clear visual hierarchy helps in achieving a clean and professional appearance that inspires confidence.
  • Boosting conversion rates: Effective visual structure and hierarchy encourage users to take actions that match a website's objectives.

To better understand this hierarchy and apply it in your work, you can consider enrolling in a visual design course.


Key Elements That Define Visual Hierarchy

Here are the design elements that collectively build a strong visual hierarchy in modern UI:

1. Size and Scale

Bigger elements automatically draw more attention. Designers take advantage of this to emphasize content by making headings, icons, or main buttons bigger while making supporting text smaller.

2. Typography

Font selection, weight, and spacing all affect how quickly and easily users can scan and comprehend content. Bold text commands attention, but lighter text should be reserved for less important information.

3. Color and Contrast

Color palettes are highly effective at triggering emotions and controlling user focus. High contrast between items (such as white text on a black background) enhances readability and captures the eye's attention in key areas.

4. Whitespace

Also referred to as negative space, whitespace avoids clutter and organizes elements logically. It provides space for the design to breathe and allows the interface to be organized and easy to use.

5. Alignment and Positioning

Positioning key elements in standard locations (such as top-left for logos or top-right for logins) conforms to user expectations and improves navigation.

6. Repetition and Consistency

Consistent application of visual patterns, such as consistent heading sizes or button colors, builds up a unified design language that reinforces intuitive user flow.



The Role of Visual Hierarchy in Responsive and Mobile Design

With users accessing content across various devices, maintaining a strong visual hierarchy in responsive design is essential. Mobile screens offer less real estate, making it even more important to prioritize content clearly.

Designers now adopt mobile-first approaches where they define the hierarchy for smaller screens and then scale up. This involves using collapsible menus, prioritizing content stacks, and ensuring tap-friendly CTA buttons stand out.


Visual Hierarchy in Action: Real-World Examples

Consider popular platforms like Spotify, Airbnb, and Google Maps. Each of these interfaces guides users through beautifully crafted visual hierarchies:

  • Spotify highlights playlists with bold covers and large headlines, while secondary options like settings remain small and less obtrusive.
  • Airbnb uses white space and prominent CTA buttons to streamline the booking journey.
  • Google Maps prioritizes routes and directions visually while minimizing less-used features like satellite view options.

These real-world examples showcase how effective visual hierarchy leads to intuitive navigation and user satisfaction.


How to Master Visual Hierarchy: The Power of Design Courses

To build a career in UI/UX design or to sharpen your existing skills, enrolling in a visual design course can offer structured learning and practical insights. These courses help you:

  • Understand design principles and their application in digital interfaces.
  • Learn from real-world case studies and expert feedback.
  • Build a portfolio that reflects your understanding of user-centric design.

One standout option for learners in India is the IIT Hyderabad design course, which blends academic rigor with practical application. The program dives deep into human-centered design, cognitive science, and interaction design—all crucial areas for mastering visual hierarchy.

Whether you're a beginner or a working professional, such courses provide the ideal launchpad for advancing in the design industry.


Visual Hierarchy and Emerging Tech

The future of UI design is increasingly intertwined with technologies like generative AI, AR/VR, and voice interfaces. These innovations bring new challenges and opportunities for visual hierarchy. For example:

  • Voice UIs reduce visual content but require clear visual prompts.
  • AR/VR demands spatial hierarchy—guiding user attention in 3D spaces.
  • AI-driven design tools like Figma AI help automate visual hierarchy suggestions based on user behavior.

As tech evolves, the principles of visual hierarchy remain relevant but need to be adapted across different media.

Conclusion

Visual hierarchy is the silent engine that drives user attention, engagement, and satisfaction in UI design. It’s not just about making interfaces attractive—it's about making them work seamlessly for the end user.

For those aiming to build impactful digital products or enter the design industry, understanding visual hierarchy is essential. Enrolling in a specialized visual design course, such as the one at IIT Hyderabad, can equip you with the right skills and tools to thrive in this competitive field.

As digital experiences become more immersive and user-centric, mastering visual hierarchy will continue to be a critical differentiator in successful UI design.



Further readings

Top Design Entrance Exams in India
Design Thinking Workshop - Complete Guide 
7 principles of UX design for innovative AI solutions 
The Gestalt Principles - IxDF

Top Colleges for B.Des in India


DISCLOSURE: This article is published as part of a paid partnership with the author/company. The views and opinions expressed are those of the author/company.