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Charles Schwab – Innovating at scale

Semantic Design System Owner (iOS Android)

2022

Led semantic design system strategy and emerging channel experiences for Charles Schwab, including Apple Watch, Apple Catalyst, and Apple CarPlay implementations.

Charles Schwab – Innovating at scale - Image 1

Charles Schwab – Innovating at scale

Role & Impact

As Semantic Design System Owner for iOS and Android, I served as Independent UX lead on emerging channels including Apple Watch, Apple Catalyst, and Apple CarPlay. I owned strategy & planning, journey mapping, low & high fidelity designs, engineering & business stakeholder communication, user testing, and production assets creation.

Cross-Functional Leadership

I coordinated daily between design leadership (VP and Director levels) and engineering leadership (Android Lead, iOS Principal and Technology VPs) within a scrum environment. Led component level design, archetype creation, and broad design pattern creation within Schwab's design system.

This central role led to ongoing demand from peers seeking education, know-how and affirmation on feature, process and pattern design, continuing to propel advancement toward leading and executing on the most challenging product design demands across emerging innovation channels and experiences.

Semantic Design System: EVEREST

I independently led the research, definition and production of a semantic/tokenized driven design system for Charles Schwab, with particular focus on:

Foundation Work

  • Unified Spacing: Cross-channel spacing systems
  • Color Consolidation: Systematic color architecture
  • Typography: Native channel typography considerations
  • Component Design: Design pattern component architecture

Platform Standards

  • iOS Excellence: Closely researching and honoring Apple's H.I.G. standards for iOS (watch, car, desktop and mobile)
  • Android Native: Following Material Design standards for Android system considerations

Emerging Channel Innovation

Apple Watch

Pioneered Schwab's presence on Apple Watch, creating native experiences that brought financial management to users' wrists with appropriate information hierarchy and interaction patterns.

Apple CarPlay

Designed safe, voice-first financial experiences for the car environment, focusing on essential account information and voice interactions.

Apple Catalyst

Led the strategy for bringing Schwab's iOS experience to macOS through Catalyst, ensuring consistency while optimizing for desktop interaction patterns.

Technologies & Approaches

  • Semantic Tokens: Advanced tokenization for cross-platform consistency
  • Native Platforms: iOS, Android, watchOS, CarPlay, macOS
  • Design Systems: Enterprise-scale systematic design
  • Emerging Channels: Pioneering new platform experiences

This work established foundational design system principles that enabled Charles Schwab to scale consistent experiences across an expanding ecosystem of platforms and devices.