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Best Talk Finalist

Tackling Design Systems with a lean approach

Marianne Ashton-Booth

A summary of the talk

Marianne Ashton-Booth, Head of Design Systems at ITVX (ex-CNN), shares a practical framework, Lean DS, for running design systems in complex, fast-moving organizations. She maps the design system lifecycle (growth → optimization → strategy shifts → maintenance) and shows how expectations change from 'ship fast' to 'prove impact and align to org goals'. The core of Lean DS is an adapted Lean UX canvas that connects three layers:

  1. Why: org context, business goals, and real system problems;
  2. What: users, desired outcomes, measurable metrics, and hypothesis-led solutions;
  3. Feasibility: team model, dependencies, risks, and a realistic plan.

She pairs this with a research cadence across three pillars: adoption & contribution (monthly, quantitative), usability & discoverability (quarterly, mixed-methods), and awareness & perception (6–9 months, qualitative across all levels). Guidance includes using PRD-style docs, over-communicating status/risks, and avoiding a reactive 'librarian' stance in maintenance by keeping space for improvement. Q&A covers executive buy-in (speak to motivators, persist) and maintenance traps (don't stagnate; keep evolving).

Highlight

“Really loved your amazing session. It was eye opening for me as a newbie… I’ll definitely apply it in my work!” - Into DS attendee

Watch the video

Timeline

  1. Nominations will be open from Tuesday 13 May. If you have any questions about the nomination process, then check out the FAQs, or if your question isn't answered, please get in touch at community@zeroheight.com

    13 May, 2025

  2. Once the nominations are closed, we'll be collating the longlist and working through it to determine a shortlist. The shortlist will be determined by the team at zeroheight, and will be based on uniform judging criteria (which we will share in a month or two). With the shortlist creation, we aim to remove as much bias as possible and give everyone a fair chance across the board.

    22 August, 2025

  3. In September, the shortlist will be announced, including public voting! We'll notify all folks as to whether they made the shortlist. The judges will then individually judge each shortlisted entry. We'll also have public voting on each category live on the site!

    15 September, 2025

  4. Once all the judges and public votes are counted, we'll then be able to determine the winner for each category, based off a weighted compilation of votes.

    3 November, 2025

  5. In December, we'll gather the community together at an event in London to announce the winners live. We'll also be live-streaming the ceremony for those who can't make it. The live event will be invite only, but we'll offer the community a chance to apply for a ticket later in the year! We'll also post the results to the zeroheight site the day after the event.

    December 2025 (TBA)

Past Winners