GearSource

GearSource already had a strong brand and loyal customer base, but its systems were designed for internal sales rather than third party transactions. The challenge was to create a flexible and trustworthy platform where thousands of global vendors could list inventory, manage orders, and communicate with buyers without compromising quality or control.

I collaborated closely with the founder and engineering to deliver an experience that felt familiar to existing customers yet scalable for new users. My role involved defining the product vision, designing complex vendor workflows, and shaping a design system that could grow with the business.

This project required a balance of structure and creativity. I needed to think strategically about legacy constraints while pushing for innovation and simplicity across the platform.

The goals for this project combined strategic vision with practical execution. We wanted to build a product that would serve the company’s long term ambitions while also delivering tangible improvements to the day to day experience of vendors and buyers.

• Extend a successful resale business into a scalable marketplace model
• Create a design language that bridges brand heritage and modern usability
• Design end to end vendor workflows for listing, managing, and selling equipment
• Enable buyers to discover, compare, and purchase items with confidence
• Improve internal efficiency through design systems and process alignment
• Foster collaboration across teams to align design, engineering, and brand objectives

Establishing a shared design vision

I began by facilitating alignment workshops to define the marketplace vision and user priorities. These sessions brought together stakeholders from engineering, product, and marketing to establish a common understanding of what success looked like. By grounding decisions in shared context, we built momentum and avoided the fragmentation that often occurs in large scale redesigns.

Throughout the process, I used storytelling and high-fidelity wireframes to bring ideas to life quickly. This helped non design stakeholders understand the user experience early and contribute meaningfully to direction and scope.

Designing for complexity and flexibility

The marketplace required intricate systems for vendors, including bulk upload tools, inventory management, and shipping configurations. My goal was to simplify these without losing capability.

I developed modular layouts and progressive forms that reduced cognitive load and surfaced only the information relevant to each step. The design balanced the need for flexibility with the importance of speed, helping vendors complete actions efficiently while maintaining a sense of control.

Building system wide consistency

With multiple teams contributing to the platform, design consistency became essential. I introduced a structured design system and component library to support collaboration between myself and the engineers. Each new component was documented with usage rules, accessibility guidelines, and responsive variants.

This not only improved delivery speed but also ensured that every new feature adhered to a unified aesthetic and interaction logic.

Working in a fast paced environment

GearSource operated with tight deadlines and overlapping initiatives. I adopted an agile, iterative process that allowed for rapid exploration and refinement. I collaborated daily with engineers to test feasibility, refine edge cases, and align on implementation details.

In parallel, I partnered with the brand team to evolve GearSource’s visual identity, modernising typography, colour, and hierarchy while preserving the bold, confident tone that users already trusted.