Through the system, the rituals around it and the people doing the work. At GSK that meant leading the design system team behind Omni. At Vonage it means the design system, AI patterns, and mentoring, workshops and talks for designers.
At GSK I led the designers working on the Commercial and Medical design system — up to five at a time. I set the priorities, assigned the work and mentored them, while their line management sat elsewhere. Leading without the org chart is most of what a design system lead does.
I interview designers and recommend hires; the final call has sat with line managers. And I mentor a lot: at 69pixels, GSK and Vonage, and outside work as a volunteer, in design communities, and for friends who ask.
“He pushes design boundaries and helps support and nurture others around him to grow, whilst growing himself.”
People use a system when they know how to ask for things, when they’ll get them, and that what ships matches what was designed. These are the rituals and processes I set up and ran:
I mentor designers and run workshops, talks and learning sessions on design and AI at HiQo Solutions, GSK and Vonage, and I hand the stage to other designers to share their own work.
2 Jun 2026 · Vonage · internal
Three things that turn the AI intern into a colleague: MCP gives it eyes and access to your tools, agents let it take steps instead of just chatting, and skills teach it your way of working once.
With examples from design-system work: asking Figma for a button’s fill over MCP, a token-naming skill written as a markdown file, and one /goal run that moves every button to a new radius token and reports back on what still needs a human.
16 Dec 2025 · Vonage · internal
Why waiting feels long, and what design can do about it. People don’t hate waiting; they hate not knowing what’s happening.
Objective against subjective time, the four things that stretch a wait, and what countdown traffic lights in Korea, the same idea backfiring in China, and the London Underground’s countdown boards teach about progress, visibility and reassurance. Plus AI updates for designers, and a plea to double-check what an LLM tells you.
18 Nov 2025 · Vonage · internal
A designer’s field guide to AI: what an LLM is, what actually matters in how it’s trained, the vibe-coding tools worth knowing, and where they fit in a designer’s week.
The punchline, after a joke about AI taking your job: the truth is, you will take AI to your job.
26 Feb 2025 · GSK · internal
A crash course in design fundamentals, told through the real world. Empathy over aesthetics, simplicity, function first — and the times form wins anyway.
Aaron Walter’s hierarchy of functional, reliable, usable and pleasurable; whitespace, colour and the first impression a page makes in 50 milliseconds; and what Le Corbusier’s Modulor, Japanese tatami rooms and the size of a fingertip teach about grids and touch targets. Ninety-one slides in the director’s cut.
These are four decks from a longer run. At HiQo Solutions, GSK and Vonage I have organised and led internal meetups, conferences, learning sessions and workshops — on AI and how to apply it, design systems and how to use them as they change, Figma craft, design history and ways of working.
Part of the job is getting other people on stage: I invite designers to present their own work and experience, so knowledge moves sideways, not just from me.
I align design-system roadmaps with business goals and present the work to directors and VPs. At GSK that meant taking Omni through compliance, brand and legal in a regulated pharmaceutical company, and working with product managers, engineering teams and the groups that support them.
“Kiryl has also become a leader in his own right, and his progression over the last few years is clear to see for all that have worked with him, inclusive of Product Managers, Engineering teams and supporting groups.”
I design AI experiences for real products, set the rules they follow, and build my own products with AI end to end.
At GSK, a design style guide for the company’s AI tools, so they speak the same Omni visual language as everything else.
The governance layer for pharma web content: an AI pre-review built rules-first, with provenance on every answer.
Designed with AI and built by AI, from native iOS apps to web tools. FocusDrop and Brief are live on the App Store.
AI, AI, AI; Perception of time and, of course, AI; and MCP, agents & skills.
“He’s been leading the Design System team for the last year or more and is an all round star. His knowledge of design system management is second to none.”
“His work is not only visually strong, but it’s rooted in the latest research and best practices, ensuring that every design decision is intentional and effective.”
“His diligence, focus and dedication helped to deliver a successful product building over 100 assets. He was engaged in internal standups, planning, sprint demos and requirement reviews, as well as collaborated with developers, product and executives to bring our vision to life.”