Funsize, Internal Design Tooling

Systems Thinking · Design Leadership · Content Design

Client: Funsize is a product design studio that partners with companies to design digital products and experiences.

Problem: As the studio grew, designers lacked a shared framework for understanding role expectations, skill progression, and what "next" looked like. Growth conversations were uneven and ambiguous—there was no common language for skills and no consistent way to assess progress.

Goal: Design a system that creates clarity around skills and expectations without becoming rigid or feeling like a performance management tool.

Role: I owned the solution end-to-end—defining the approach, designing the system, testing with designers, and shipping the MVP.

Approach: Rather than waiting for engineering investment, I built a working MVP using Notion and Figma. The system included a skills taxonomy, role-level rubric, and self-assessment tool that made expectations visible and actionable.

Outcome: Designers had clearer expectations and stronger tools for growth conversations. The organization gained shared language and consistency without heavy process.

Skill definitions varied by person and project, so designers were evaluating themselves against different mental models. Role expectations were implicit rather than documented. And a key tension surfaced early: designers often conflated skill ratings with role qualifications, which created anxiety rather than clarity.

The system also needed to feel supportive and flexible—not like a performance management tool.

Key decisions

Explicitly separated skills from roles to reduce anxiety and reframe growth as progression, not judgment

Grouped skills into Core, Growth, and Specialty categories with proficiency levels describing how skills evolve—not grades

Built the MVP in Notion and Figma to prioritize speed, adoption, and iteration over engineering investment

Designed a self-assessment tool focused on reflection and goal-setting rather than evaluation

The first step was building a clear, navigable foundation. I refined the existing skill list, clarified definitions, and grouped skills into Core, Growth, and Specialty categories. To show progression over time, I introduced proficiency levels—not as grades, but as descriptions of how skills evolve with experience.

Without shared definitions, designers were evaluating themselves against different mental models. Establishing clarity here was foundational.

Separating skills from roles

Early feedback revealed that designers were interpreting skill ratings as role qualifications. To address this, I explicitly separated skills from roles—designing role descriptions focused on behaviors and expectations, and creating a rubric showing how skills show up differently at each level.

This reframed growth as progression rather than judgment.

Building the rubric and self-assessment tool

I designed a role-level rubric spanning L1–L5 with clear expectations, behavioral indicators, and growth-focused language. To add nuance within levels, I introduced Walking / Jogging / Sprinting bands describing growth inside a role.

To make the system actionable, I built an interactive self-assessment worksheet in Figma where designers could rate confidence, reflect on strengths and gaps, and define goals. Figma was intentional—familiar, flexible, and no engineering overhead.

Testing and shipping the MVP

I ran four qualitative interviews with designers to test whether the system felt clear and usable. The rubric and worksheet landed well; the bands needed more concrete explanation. Shipping something usable let us learn faster than waiting for perfection.

Within three months, I launched a centralized Notion hub, the Figma self-assessment tool, and short how-to videos. The goal wasn't polish—it was clarity and adoption.

The Career Progression Hub became a shared reference point for designers at Funsize.

Designers felt clearer about expectations, had stronger tools for growth conversations, and took more ownership of their development. The organization gained shared language around skills and roles, greater consistency without heavy process, and a scalable foundation for future growth.

This work demonstrated how design can shape culture and organizational clarity—leading through systems and influence rather than formal authority.

Learnings

Clear UX writing is critical when designing abstract systems

Designers benefit from context more than complexity

Shipping something usable accelerates learning more than waiting for alignment

Challenges

Managing the complexity of skills, levels, and bands

Untangling skills from perceived role qualifications

Designing for digestibility without oversimplifying

Wins

Fully owned a complex, high-impact internal initiative

Turned vague expectations into a structured, usable system

Shipped an MVP quickly while leaving room to evolve