Three companies, three “real” design systems. Still not bored of buttons.
Design systemsGroupUI · Celonis · Unblu
Hi, I’m Matthias.I turn ideas into products and products into systems.
Currently leading product design and the design system at Unblu in Basel. Before that, design systems at Celonis and MAN. Before that, a bit of everything.
Unblu builds conversational software for banks and insurers: chat, video, co-browsing, the works. My job is to make all of it feel like one product, and to build the system that keeps it that way when nobody is looking.
The part people underestimate: components are easy, agreeing on them is not. Tokens, docs and Figma libraries are the visible 20%. The other 80% is process, politics and patience, also known as DesignOps.
I didn’t start in design systems. I started in agencies in 2007, designing online shops and Smart TV interfaces and then building them myself. That habit stuck: I still work close to the code, and I still care how a single toggle feels.
In short
Half designer, half frontend dev. Annoying in both meetings.
Design × codeSince 2007
Case studies from the day job, opinions nobody asked for, and side projects over-engineered on purpose.
CaseSeries 1/6
Three weeks of tokens, four years of design system
Case
A contribution model people actually use
Lab
Wandplaner: planning a salon wall to the centimetre
OpinionSeries 1/3
Why I don’t love designer portfolios (says the guy with a portfolio)
- CaseSeries 1/6Design systems at scaleThree weeks of tokens, four years of design system
- CaseA contribution model people actually use
- LabWandplaner: planning a salon wall to the centimetre
- OpinionSeries 1/3Unpopular opinionsWhy I don’t love designer portfolios (says the guy with a portfolio)
- ArchiveBefore design systems had a name, 2007 – 2018
- SoonGroupUI: one design system, many Volkswagen brands
- SoonPart 2Unpopular opinionsYour Claude-coded token file is not a design system
- SoonPart 1Automate my lifeAn outfit configurator, because mornings are hard
Talks, panels and mentoring about design systems and the people who build them.
- What’s new in Dev Mode2024
- Back to basics: design system foundations at Celonis2023
- Panel discussion2023
- Masterclass: WTF?! How do tokens work?!2023
- Design systems: from buzzword to real value2022
- A collaboration matrix for design systems2022
- GroupUI, the Volkswagen multi-brand design system2021
- Multi-brand design systems within the VW Group2021
- UX in commercial vehicles2019
- Mentor for UX students2017 – now
- Product & Design Systems · Unblu
- DesignOps | Design Systems Lead · Celonis
- Design Lead (Design System) · Celonis
- DesignOps & Design System Lead · MAN Truck & Bus
- Senior UI/UX Designer · MAN Truck & Bus
- Senior UI/UX Designer · Dr. Grandel
- Screen Designer & Frontend Developer · .NFQ Digital Creatives
- Screen Designer & Frontend Developer · Neuland Software
- Founder · Shokunin LAB · on the side
- Product design & design system consulting · Freelance · on the side
Let’s talk about systems.
Open for conversations about design systems, DesignOps and teams that actually ship. Or ask my agent first. It’s cheaper.