Ansarada design system, ACE, documentation enhancement – Part 2

Role: Product Designer, design systems and brand
Product: ACE (Ansarada common elements), Ansarada’s design system
Initiative: Giving the design system its own identity and modernising the documentation interface to match Ansarada’s evolving brand
My contribution: Identity concept and design (the Tangram), documentation UI modernisation, brand alignment, information hierarchy improvements

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After Part 1 fixed how ACE documentation worked, Part 2 fixed what it meant. The system had become critical infrastructure for product development, but it looked and felt like an internal afterthought: dated next to newer product experiences, disconnected from Ansarada’s refreshed brand, and lacking any identity that communicated its purpose. I redesigned ACE’s identity around the metaphor of a tangram, simple geometric pieces that combine into endless purposeful configurations, and modernised the documentation interface to extend Ansarada’s new brand language into internal tooling. The result repositioned ACE from a functional library into a mature system with a clear presence, and adoption benefited from the recognition and trust that identity creates.

The problem

ACE functioned well as a system, but it lacked a clear identity. As Ansarada refreshed its visual direction, the gap became more visible:

• The design system felt separate from the product it supported
• Documentation appeared dated compared to newer product experiences
• ACE lacked a recognisable identity that communicated its purpose
• The system’s value was not immediately clear to new contributors

None of these are cosmetic complaints. As adoption grew, the system’s credibility increasingly depended on it looking like something the organisation invested in and believed in. A source of truth that looks abandoned invites teams to treat it as optional.

Opportunity

Rather than treating ACE as an internal tool, we saw the opportunity to position it as a living system with its own meaning and narrative. The goal was to make ACE feel intentional, recognisable, aligned with the product and brand evolution, and easier to navigate and understand. This was never purely a visual exercise. It was about reinforcing what design systems do: bring complexity together into something coherent.

Concept: the Tangram

The new ACE identity was inspired by a tangram. A tangram is formed from simple geometric shapes that combine to create endless configurations; individually simple pieces come together to form something more complex and purposeful.

That is a design system. Components, tokens and patterns are the individual pieces. Assembled thoughtfully, they create robust and flexible user interfaces. The identity communicated what ACE represents, not just what it contains, and gave the system a story people could retell, which is exactly how understanding spreads inside an organisation.

Approach

1. Define the visual language

The ACE logo and identity system were redesigned to reflect modularity and composition. The tangram concept let the identity visually express flexibility, structure, collaboration between parts, and the scalability of interfaces. It needed to feel modern while staying simple enough to sit comfortably within the wider Ansarada ecosystem, an identity for infrastructure, not a brand competing with the product.

2. Align with the evolving Ansarada brand

Ansarada was introducing an updated brand language at the time, first explored through the website redesign project. ACE documentation became the opportunity to extend that new direction into internal tooling. The documentation UI adopted the updated typography and colour usage, improved hierarchy and readability, and created consistency between product, marketing and system documentation. Internal tools rarely get this treatment, and that is precisely why doing it signals that the system matters.

3. Improve usability through visual refinement

Every visual update pulled double duty as a comprehension update:

• Clearer information hierarchy
• Improved scanning behaviour for developers and designers
• Better separation between guidance, examples and technical details
• Reduced visual noise

The aim was to make information easier to consume during real working moments, mid-task, mid-build, when nobody has patience for decoration that does not help them find the answer.

Solution

A refreshed ACE identity paired with a modernised documentation interface aligned to the new Ansarada brand:

• A recognisable visual identity grounded in system thinking
• Documentation that felt current and cohesive
• Improved usability through clearer structure and hierarchy
• A stronger connection between the design system and the product experience

Outcome

ACE transitioned from a functional internal library into a mature design system with a clear presence and purpose. The redesign helped reinforce adoption through familiarity and clarity, align internal tools with the external brand evolution, strengthen trust in ACE as a long-term foundation, and communicate the value of systems thinking across teams. It also demonstrated how brand and design systems can work together to support organisational alignment, two disciplines usually kept in separate rooms.

What I learned

Design systems are as much about meaning as they are about components. When people understand the story behind a system, adoption becomes easier. Identity creates recognition, and recognition builds trust. Coherence across brand, product and systems creates stronger experiences for teams and users alike.

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