PORTFOLIO
CENTRICA / BRITISH GAS - NUCLEUS DESIGN SYSTEM
CLIENT
Centrica / British Gas
PROJECT
Design System - British Gas brand refresh
Improving design standards, consistency and accessibility.
Overview
Nucleus is the design system powering British Gas’s and Centrica Energy's digital experiences across multiple products, teams and platforms. Over five years, I led the evolution of Nucleus from a fragmented component library into a scalable, accessible and high‑performing system that directly improved customer journeys and business outcomes.
My role
As Design System Team Lead and Designer, I owned the strategy, design direction and adoption of Nucleus, working across product teams, engineering, brand and accessibility specialists.
The challenge
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Inconsistent UI patterns across journeys
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Slow delivery due to duplicated design and engineering effort
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Accessibility gaps and inconsistent interaction behaviour
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Limited documentation and unclear guidance
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Low adoption and fragmented component usage
Approach
1. Establishing a scalable foundation
I defined core principles, interaction patterns and accessibility standards that ensured consistency across all journeys.
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2. Component redesign & optimisation
I redesigned key components to improve usability, performance and accessibility, ensuring they supported real product needs rather than theoretical patterns.
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3. Evidence‑led improvements
Using analytics, usability testing and journey performance data, I prioritised enhancements that would deliver measurable impact.
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4. Cross‑team collaboration
I partnered with engineering, brand and product teams to ensure Nucleus supported real‑world delivery and aligned with technical constraints.
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5. AI‑powered documentation assistant
I introduced an AI‑driven documentation assistant to help designers and developers quickly find guidance, improving efficiency and reducing onboarding time.
25-50%
Uplift in website conversion
78%
increase in Heating Sales Advisor bookings
Faster delivery
Through reusable, well‑documented components
Outcomes
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25–50% uplift in website conversion through consistent, optimised patterns
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78% increase in Heating Sales Advisor bookings via strategic component adoption
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Faster delivery through reusable, well‑documented components
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Improved accessibility across journeys
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Higher adoption and stronger alignment across teams
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Recognised with the Centrica CIO’s Team of the Year Award (2021)
“You single-handedly supported the Nucleus Design System team but also all our community for everything UX and design!
I cannot thank you enough for the amount of work and patience you have provided throughout your time with us.”
BEN FRANCK
HEAD OF DESIGN - BRITISH GAS
What I learnt
A design system is only successful when it enables product outcomes. By grounding Nucleus in real user needs and measurable impact, we created a system that genuinely improved both customer experience and delivery efficiency.