PORTFOLIO
CENTRICA / BRITISH GAS - NUCLEUS DESIGN SYSTEM

CLIENT
Centrica / British Gas
PROJECT
Design System - British Gas brand refresh
Improving design standards, consistency and accessibility.
The challenge
The Nucleus Design System is an inclusive, community-led platform that brings together the British Gas brand personality with world-class user experience.
We’ve developed a suite of rigorously researched, production-ready components, supported by design principles, clear documentation, the bespoke Nucleus Playground prototyping tool, a comprehensive Figma UI kit, a blog, dedicated support channels, and regular drop-in sessions.
The core challenge is to empower designers and developers to build consistent, accessible, and user-friendly products efficiently and at scale, while actively contributing to the system’s evolution and ensuring every aspect of the system is optimised for usability, inclusivity, and long-term value.

My role
As design system lead, I drive the strategic development of a scalable, accessible, and user-centred design language that supports cross-product consistency and efficiency. I work closely with designers, developers, and product leaders to ensure the system aligns with business goals and user needs. Key responsibilities include:
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Setting strategic direction and maintaining principles, visual language, and interaction guidelines.
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Designing, documenting, and evolving reusable components and patterns.
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Enabling system-wide adoption through cross-functional collaboration.
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Guiding implementation across business units with tailored support.
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Leading user research to inform design decisions and system evolution.
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Producing clear, actionable documentation and design assets.
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Facilitating workshops, Agile ceremonies, onboarding, and community forums.
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Defining and reporting team performance and value against strategic objectives.
The solution
Through deep expertise and close collaboration, the Nucleus Design System has become a vital resource for designers and developers across business units. It enables faster, more consistent, and user-friendly product delivery at scale.
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Our focus on accessibility and usability resulted in a robust, intuitive system that effectively communicates the British Gas brand across all digital channels.
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We demonstrated its value by delivering a major British Gas brand refresh in significantly less time and effort than previous rollouts, thanks to the use of design tokens, scalable theming, and a mature system foundation.
616%
Uplift for boiler & heating repairs
78%
Increase in HSA conversions
212%
Uplift for HSA merged journeys
The results
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The British Gas homepage saw a 74% increase in clicks for energy and a 616% increase for boiler and heating repair after adopting Nucleus. This uplift was estimated to boost conversion by 25–50%.
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Non-contract sales saw a 78% increase in conversions for Heating Sales Advisor (HSA) appointments when using the Nucleus product card.
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Merging the HSA journeys combined with Nucleus resulted in a 212% uplift in conversion.
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Awarded CIO Team of the Year in 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