Edd Hopkinson | Senior Digital Designer - Vodafone Design Langauge

Edd Hopkinson

Senior Designer

— Vodafone

Solving design alignment at scale

Creating a unified digital design framework for Vodafone UK

Research • Strategy • Direction • Design System • Design • Guidance

Project at a glace

— Problem

Inconsistent digital experiences and misalignment across teams

Inherited design system with minimal documentation and poor guidance
Inconsistent user experiences across digital
No source of truth for design decisions
Disconnected brand, UX/UI, and content design principles
Siloed teams duplicating effort

— Solution

Creation of a unified design language for UX/UI and Content Design teams

A cohesive design language to align digital design teams under one shared vision—bridging brand, strategy, UX/UI, and content into a consistent, scalable system. Unifying what a good digital experience for Vodafone should be.

View the Design Language in Figma

— Impact

More consistent digital experiences and aligned design teams

Enabled consistency across digital products
Provided a single source of truth for all design teams to reference
Created a foundation for a scalable, digital-first design culture at Vodafone UK
The design language principles currently form the basis of DesignOps inititives

— Solution

Vodafone Design Language

Created and documented a foundational Design Language to align teams and standardise design practice across Vodafone UK.

Key takeaways:

Mapped brand, strategy, and experience goals into one framework
Defined design principles helping teams meet the experience goals
Established guidance on hierarchy, structure, and typography
Created real-world examples to show design language in action
Validated principles with live design work (Vodafone Broadband redesign)

View the Design Language in Figma

“Working with Edd at Vodafone has been exceptional. His design expertise truly shines in how he masterfully unified our brand elements into a comprehensive digital branding guide. By seamlessly integrating our reference designs, brand guidelines, and design system into one cohesive online resource, Edd created an invaluable tool for our team.”

M Smith

Design Systems Lead @ Vodafone

In depth look at process

— Process

Defining the vision

Collaborated with the Design Language team through workshops to craft a clear, actionable vision statement—a guiding North Star for all design decisions:

View vision statement in Figma

— Process

User and goal mapping

Identified key internal users (UX/UI, Content, Design System teams) and broke the vision into practical, actionable goals tailored to their needs.

See user goals in Figma

— Research

Surfacing the issues

I consolidated existing brand strategies, employee goals, principles, guidelines, and documentation into a single view.

This exposed overlaps, gaps, misalignment, and conflicting interpretations, highlighting the lack of digital-specific guidance connecting UX/UI, brand, and content.

Core issues identified:

Lots of disconnected business goals and strategies that teams were supposed to achieve but with no actionable way to do it
Teams didn’t have the same documentation as each other to follow
teams were often unaware of guidance
Brand guidance was mostly non-digital.
Digital teams were using outdated or misaligned resources
A unified, digital-first design language was essential.
Brand guidance was created for non-digital channels (print, OOH), and didn’t support digital needs.
Design system lacked integration with brand principles.
Teams were working in isolation without awareness of available resources.
Siloed decision making leading to duplication of work creating inconsistent design patterns.

Insight

Brand guidance was mostly non-digital.
Digital teams were using outdated or misaligned resources.
A unified, digital-first design language was essential.

— Solution

Laddering principles up to business goals and objectives

Showing a clear path to how the design language can help design teams deliver against customer experience principles, digital mission statement, and the wider brand ambition.

View the Design Language in Figma

— Solution

Defining principles

Showing a clear path to how the design language can help design teams deliver against customer experience principles, digital mission statement, and the wider brand ambition.

View the Design Language in Figma

— Solution

Visualising the principles

Showing a clear path to how the design language can help design teams deliver against customer experience principles, digital mission statement, and the wider brand ambition.

View the Design Language in Figma

— Solution

Bringing principles to life with real examples

Tested and refined the design language during the Vodafone Broadband product redesign, ensuring relevance, usability, and team buy-in.

View the Design Language in Figma

— Validation

Validating the principles with a real project

I tested and refined the design language principles during the Vodafone Broadband redesign, ensuring relevance, usability, and team buy-in.

I used the Vodafone Broadband Redesign project to test and validate the design language principles to ensure they were relevant, usable, and to assess wider team buy in.

— Impact

Improved consistency across the digital estate

I tested and refined the design language principles during the Vodafone Broadband redesign, ensuring relevance, usability, and team buy-in.

I used the Vodafone Broadband Redesign project to test and validate the design language principles to ensure they were relevant, usable, and to assess wider team buy in.

Projects

Edd Hopkinson

Senior Designer

— Vodafone

Solving design alignment at scale

Creating a unified digital design framework for Vodafone UK

Research • Strategy • Direction • Design System • Design • Guidance

Project at a glace

— Problem

Inconsistent digital experiences and misalignment across teams

Inherited design system with minimal documentation and poor guidance
Inconsistent user experiences across digital
No source of truth for design decisions
Disconnected brand, UX/UI, and content design principles
Siloed teams duplicating effort

— Solution

Creation of a unified design language for UX/UI and Content Design teams

View the Design Language in Figma

— Impact

More consistent digital experiences and aligned design teams

Enabled consistency across digital products
Provided a single source of truth for all design teams to reference
Created a foundation for a scalable, digital-first design culture at Vodafone UK
The design language principles currently form the basis of DesignOps inititives

— Solution

Vodafone Design Language

Created and documented a foundational Design Language to align teams and standardise design practice across Vodafone UK.

Key takeaways:

Mapped brand, strategy, and experience goals into one framework
Defined design principles helping teams meet the experience goals
Established guidance on hierarchy, structure, and typography
Created real-world examples to show design language in action
Validated principles with live design work (Vodafone Broadband redesign)

View the Design Language in Figma

M Smith

Design Systems Lead @ Vodafone

In depth look at process

— Process

Defining the vision

Collaborated with the Design Language team through workshops to craft a clear, actionable vision statement—a guiding North Star for all design decisions:

View vision statement in Figma

— Process

User and goal mapping

Identified key internal users (UX/UI, Content, Design System teams) and broke the vision into practical, actionable goals tailored to their needs.

See user goals in Figma

— Research

Surfacing the issues

I consolidated existing brand strategies, employee goals, principles, guidelines, and documentation into a single view.

This exposed overlaps, gaps, misalignment, and conflicting interpretations, highlighting the lack of digital-specific guidance connecting UX/UI, brand, and content.

Core issues identified:

Lots of disconnected business goals and strategies that teams were supposed to achieve but with no actionable way to do it
Teams didn’t have the same documentation as each other to follow
teams were often unaware of guidance
Brand guidance was mostly non-digital.
Digital teams were using outdated or misaligned resources
A unified, digital-first design language was essential.
Brand guidance was created for non-digital channels (print, OOH), and didn’t support digital needs.
Design system lacked integration with brand principles.
Teams were working in isolation without awareness of available resources.
Siloed decision making leading to duplication of work creating inconsistent design patterns.

Insight

Brand guidance was mostly non-digital.
Digital teams were using outdated or misaligned resources.
A unified, digital-first design language was essential.

— Solution

Laddering principles up to business goals and objectives

Showing a clear path to how the design language can help design teams deliver against customer experience principles, digital mission statement, and the wider brand ambition.

View the Design Language in Figma

— Solution

Defining principles

Showing a clear path to how the design language can help design teams deliver against customer experience principles, digital mission statement, and the wider brand ambition.

View the Design Language in Figma

— Solution

Visualising the principles

Showing a clear path to how the design language can help design teams deliver against customer experience principles, digital mission statement, and the wider brand ambition.

View the Design Language in Figma

— Solution

Bringing principles to life with real examples

Tested and refined the design language during the Vodafone Broadband product redesign, ensuring relevance, usability, and team buy-in.

View the Design Language in Figma

— Validation

Validating the principles with a real project

I tested and refined the design language principles during the Vodafone Broadband redesign, ensuring relevance, usability, and team buy-in.

I used the Vodafone Broadband Redesign project to test and validate the design language principles to ensure they were relevant, usable, and to assess wider team buy in.

— Impact

Improved consistency across the digital estate

I tested and refined the design language principles during the Vodafone Broadband redesign, ensuring relevance, usability, and team buy-in.

I used the Vodafone Broadband Redesign project to test and validate the design language principles to ensure they were relevant, usable, and to assess wider team buy in.

Projects

Edd Hopkinson

Senior Designer

— Vodafone

Solving design alignment at scale

Creating a unified digital design framework for Vodafone UK

Research • Strategy • Direction • Design System • Design • Guidance

Project at a glace

— Problem

Inconsistent digital experiences and misalignment across teams

Inherited design system with minimal documentation and poor guidance
Inconsistent user experiences across digital
No source of truth for design decisions
Disconnected brand, UX/UI, and content design principles
Siloed teams duplicating effort

— Solution

Creation of a unified design language for UX/UI and Content Design teams

View the Design Language in Figma

— Impact

More consistent digital experiences and aligned design teams

Enabled consistency across digital products
Provided a single source of truth for all design teams to reference
Created a foundation for a scalable, digital-first design culture at Vodafone UK
The design language principles currently form the basis of DesignOps inititives

— Solution

Vodafone Design Language

Created and documented a foundational Design Language to align teams and standardise design practice across Vodafone UK.

Key takeaways:

Mapped brand, strategy, and experience goals into one framework
Defined design principles helping teams meet the experience goals
Established guidance on hierarchy, structure, and typography
Created real-world examples to show design language in action
Validated principles with live design work (Vodafone Broadband redesign)

View the Design Language in Figma

M Smith

Design Systems Lead @ Vodafone

In depth look at process

— Process

Defining the vision

Collaborated with the Design Language team through workshops to craft a clear, actionable vision statement—a guiding North Star for all design decisions:

View vision statement in Figma

— Process

User and goal mapping

Identified key internal users (UX/UI, Content, Design System teams) and broke the vision into practical, actionable goals tailored to their needs.

See user goals in Figma

— Research

Surfacing the issues

I consolidated existing brand strategies, employee goals, principles, guidelines, and documentation into a single view.

This exposed overlaps, gaps, misalignment, and conflicting interpretations, highlighting the lack of digital-specific guidance connecting UX/UI, brand, and content.

Core issues identified:

Lots of disconnected business goals and strategies that teams were supposed to achieve but with no actionable way to do it
Teams didn’t have the same documentation as each other to follow
teams were often unaware of guidance
Brand guidance was mostly non-digital.
Digital teams were using outdated or misaligned resources
A unified, digital-first design language was essential.
Brand guidance was created for non-digital channels (print, OOH), and didn’t support digital needs.
Design system lacked integration with brand principles.
Teams were working in isolation without awareness of available resources.
Siloed decision making leading to duplication of work creating inconsistent design patterns.

Insight

Brand guidance was mostly non-digital.
Digital teams were using outdated or misaligned resources.
A unified, digital-first design language was essential.

— Solution

Laddering principles up to business goals and objectives

Showing a clear path to how the design language can help design teams deliver against customer experience principles, digital mission statement, and the wider brand ambition.

View the Design Language in Figma

— Solution

Defining principles

Showing a clear path to how the design language can help design teams deliver against customer experience principles, digital mission statement, and the wider brand ambition.

View the Design Language in Figma

— Solution

Visualising the principles

Showing a clear path to how the design language can help design teams deliver against customer experience principles, digital mission statement, and the wider brand ambition.

View the Design Language in Figma

— Solution

Bringing principles to life with real examples

Tested and refined the design language during the Vodafone Broadband product redesign, ensuring relevance, usability, and team buy-in.

View the Design Language in Figma

— Validation

Validating the principles with a real project

I tested and refined the design language principles during the Vodafone Broadband redesign, ensuring relevance, usability, and team buy-in.

I used the Vodafone Broadband Redesign project to test and validate the design language principles to ensure they were relevant, usable, and to assess wider team buy in.

— Impact

Improved consistency across the digital estate

I tested and refined the design language principles during the Vodafone Broadband redesign, ensuring relevance, usability, and team buy-in.

I used the Vodafone Broadband Redesign project to test and validate the design language principles to ensure they were relevant, usable, and to assess wider team buy in.

Edd Hopkinson

Senior Designer

Edd Hopkinson

Senior Designer

— Vodafone

Solving design alignment at scale

Creating a unified digital design framework for Vodafone UK

Research • Strategy • Direction • Design System • Design • Guidance

Project at a glace

— Problem

Inconsistent digital experiences and misalignment across teams

Inherited design system with minimal documentation and poor guidance
Inconsistent user experiences across digital
No source of truth for design decisions
Disconnected brand, UX/UI, and content design principles
Siloed teams duplicating effort

— Solution

Creation of a unified design language for UX/UI and Content Design teams

View the Design Language in Figma

— Impact

More consistent digital experiences and aligned design teams

Enabled consistency across digital products
Provided a single source of truth for all design teams to reference
Created a foundation for a scalable, digital-first design culture at Vodafone UK
The design language principles currently form the basis of DesignOps inititives

— Solution

Vodafone Design Language

Created and documented a foundational Design Language to align teams and standardise design practice across Vodafone UK.

Key takeaways:

Mapped brand, strategy, and experience goals into one framework
Defined design principles helping teams meet the experience goals
Established guidance on hierarchy, structure, and typography
Created real-world examples to show design language in action
Validated principles with live design work (Vodafone Broadband redesign)

View the Design Language in Figma

M Smith

Design Systems Lead @ Vodafone

In depth look at process

— Process

Defining the vision

Collaborated with the Design Language team through workshops to craft a clear, actionable vision statement—a guiding North Star for all design decisions:

View vision statement in Figma

— Process

User and goal mapping

Identified key internal users (UX/UI, Content, Design System teams) and broke the vision into practical, actionable goals tailored to their needs.

See user goals in Figma

— Research

Surfacing the issues

I consolidated existing brand strategies, employee goals, principles, guidelines, and documentation into a single view.

This exposed overlaps, gaps, misalignment, and conflicting interpretations, highlighting the lack of digital-specific guidance connecting UX/UI, brand, and content.

Core issues identified:

Lots of disconnected business goals and strategies that teams were supposed to achieve but with no actionable way to do it
Teams didn’t have the same documentation as each other to follow
teams were often unaware of guidance
Brand guidance was mostly non-digital.
Digital teams were using outdated or misaligned resources
A unified, digital-first design language was essential.
Brand guidance was created for non-digital channels (print, OOH), and didn’t support digital needs.
Design system lacked integration with brand principles.
Teams were working in isolation without awareness of available resources.
Siloed decision making leading to duplication of work creating inconsistent design patterns.

Insight

Brand guidance was mostly non-digital.
Digital teams were using outdated or misaligned resources.
A unified, digital-first design language was essential.

— Solution

Laddering principles up to business goals and objectives

Showing a clear path to how the design language can help design teams deliver against customer experience principles, digital mission statement, and the wider brand ambition.

View the Design Language in Figma

— Solution

Defining principles

Showing a clear path to how the design language can help design teams deliver against customer experience principles, digital mission statement, and the wider brand ambition.

View the Design Language in Figma

— Solution

Visualising the principles

Showing a clear path to how the design language can help design teams deliver against customer experience principles, digital mission statement, and the wider brand ambition.

View the Design Language in Figma

— Solution

Bringing principles to life with real examples

Tested and refined the design language during the Vodafone Broadband product redesign, ensuring relevance, usability, and team buy-in.

View the Design Language in Figma

— Validation

Validating the principles with a real project

I tested and refined the design language principles during the Vodafone Broadband redesign, ensuring relevance, usability, and team buy-in.

I used the Vodafone Broadband Redesign project to test and validate the design language principles to ensure they were relevant, usable, and to assess wider team buy in.

— Impact

Improved consistency across the digital estate

I tested and refined the design language principles during the Vodafone Broadband redesign, ensuring relevance, usability, and team buy-in.

I used the Vodafone Broadband Redesign project to test and validate the design language principles to ensure they were relevant, usable, and to assess wider team buy in.

Edd Hopkinson

Senior Designer

Edd Hopkinson

Senior Designer

— Vodafone

Solving design alignment at scale

Creating a unified digital design framework for Vodafone UK

Research • Strategy • Direction • Design System • Design • Guidance

Project at a glace

— Problem

Inconsistent digital experiences and misalignment across teams

Inherited design system with minimal documentation and poor guidance
Inconsistent user experiences across digital
No source of truth for design decisions
Disconnected brand, UX/UI, and content design principles
Siloed teams duplicating effort

— Solution

Creation of a unified design language for UX/UI and Content Design teams

View the Design Language in Figma

— Impact

More consistent digital experiences and aligned design teams

Enabled consistency across digital products
Provided a single source of truth for all design teams to reference
Created a foundation for a scalable, digital-first design culture at Vodafone UK
The design language principles currently form the basis of DesignOps inititives

— Solution

Vodafone Design Language

Created and documented a foundational Design Language to align teams and standardise design practice across Vodafone UK.

Key takeaways:

Mapped brand, strategy, and experience goals into one framework
Defined design principles helping teams meet the experience goals
Established guidance on hierarchy, structure, and typography
Created real-world examples to show design language in action
Validated principles with live design work (Vodafone Broadband redesign)

View the Design Language in Figma

M Smith

Design Systems Lead @ Vodafone

In depth look at process

— Process

Defining the vision

Collaborated with the Design Language team through workshops to craft a clear, actionable vision statement—a guiding North Star for all design decisions:

View vision statement in Figma

— Process

User and goal mapping

Identified key internal users (UX/UI, Content, Design System teams) and broke the vision into practical, actionable goals tailored to their needs.

See user goals in Figma

— Research

Surfacing the issues

I consolidated existing brand strategies, employee goals, principles, guidelines, and documentation into a single view.

This exposed overlaps, gaps, misalignment, and conflicting interpretations, highlighting the lack of digital-specific guidance connecting UX/UI, brand, and content.

Core issues identified:

Lots of disconnected business goals and strategies that teams were supposed to achieve but with no actionable way to do it
Teams didn’t have the same documentation as each other to follow
teams were often unaware of guidance
Brand guidance was mostly non-digital.
Digital teams were using outdated or misaligned resources
A unified, digital-first design language was essential.
Brand guidance was created for non-digital channels (print, OOH), and didn’t support digital needs.
Design system lacked integration with brand principles.
Teams were working in isolation without awareness of available resources.
Siloed decision making leading to duplication of work creating inconsistent design patterns.

Insight

Brand guidance was mostly non-digital.
Digital teams were using outdated or misaligned resources.
A unified, digital-first design language was essential.

— Solution

Laddering principles up to business goals and objectives

Showing a clear path to how the design language can help design teams deliver against customer experience principles, digital mission statement, and the wider brand ambition.

View the Design Language in Figma

— Solution

Defining principles

Showing a clear path to how the design language can help design teams deliver against customer experience principles, digital mission statement, and the wider brand ambition.

View the Design Language in Figma

— Solution

Visualising the principles

Showing a clear path to how the design language can help design teams deliver against customer experience principles, digital mission statement, and the wider brand ambition.

View the Design Language in Figma

— Solution

Bringing principles to life with real examples

Tested and refined the design language during the Vodafone Broadband product redesign, ensuring relevance, usability, and team buy-in.

View the Design Language in Figma

— Validation

Validating the principles with a real project

I tested and refined the design language principles during the Vodafone Broadband redesign, ensuring relevance, usability, and team buy-in.

I used the Vodafone Broadband Redesign project to test and validate the design language principles to ensure they were relevant, usable, and to assess wider team buy in.

— Impact

Improved consistency across the digital estate

I tested and refined the design language principles during the Vodafone Broadband redesign, ensuring relevance, usability, and team buy-in.

I used the Vodafone Broadband Redesign project to test and validate the design language principles to ensure they were relevant, usable, and to assess wider team buy in.

Edd Hopkinson

Senior Designer