TLDR: This is a summarized version of how I built the Hermes Design System.
I spent three years at Raise, an African startup that helps companies manage their equity and cap tables, where I completely transformed how the product looked and worked. When I started in 2022, I was their only designer, facing the challenge of making a complex financial product both beautiful and easy to use.
The journey was split into two main chapters:
First try (Hermes 1.0): I built our first real design system using Chakra UI. Made everything look sleek with a dark mode inspired by crypto apps and created 3D visuals to help people understand equity better. It worked, but we hit some snags – too many custom pieces, duplicate work, and it was getting hard to manage.
The upgrade (Hermes 2.0): Made a bold move to switch to ShadCN UI, which turned out to be exactly what we needed. Built some cool tools along the way:
Made Figma plugins to help developers use our design pieces easily
Set up a Slack bot to tell everyone about design updates
Created a chatbot that answered questions about our design system
Moved our website from Webflow to Framer for better control
I didn't just stick to design – I dove into the technical stuff too. Built AI features, created tools for equity calculations, and even made an AI sales assistant prototype. Learned a ton about databases, AI, and development along the way.
The results were pretty impressive:
Helped Raise expand to over 20 countries
Processed more than $100M in term sheets
Helped customers raise over $15M
Made record-breaking revenue for the company
Made the product way faster to build and easier to use
What made this special was doing it all solo. Started with a basic design library and turned it into a full system that helped the business grow significantly. It shows how good design can transform a complex financial product into something people actually want to use.
The interesting part? We also started using a principle called the "See-Do Process" - making sure everything users see is clear and everything they can do is obvious. Sounds simple, but it made a huge difference in how people used our product.
I finished up my time at Raise in December, leaving behind a design system that continues to help the company grow. The whole experience proved that one designer with the right tools and mindset can make a massive impact on a business.