NEXUS
Unifying global design systems through shared identity
NEXUS
Unifying global design systems through shared identity
NEXUS
Unifying global design systems through shared identity
Executive Summary
In June 2023, Amazon hosted Nexus, its first global design systems summit, uniting more than 1,000 Amazonians across design, engineering, and product disciplines. With 22 independent design systems powering thousands of Amazon products, the event was created to foster alignment, knowledge-sharing, and innovation across a fragmented ecosystem. As one of six core organizers, I played a central role in shaping Nexus from the ground up—coining its name, designing its brand identity, and directing creative assets that gave the summit a clear, unifying presence. Beyond branding, Nexus established a platform for senior design system leaders worldwide to share principles, practices, and emerging paradigms, strengthening Amazon’s design culture at scale.
Executive Summary
In June 2023, Amazon hosted Nexus, its first global design systems summit, uniting more than 1,000 Amazonians across design, engineering, and product disciplines. With 22 independent design systems powering thousands of Amazon products, the event was created to foster alignment, knowledge-sharing, and innovation across a fragmented ecosystem. As one of six core organizers, I played a central role in shaping Nexus from the ground up—coining its name, designing its brand identity, and directing creative assets that gave the summit a clear, unifying presence. Beyond branding, Nexus established a platform for senior design system leaders worldwide to share principles, practices, and emerging paradigms, strengthening Amazon’s design culture at scale.
Executive Summary
In June 2023, Amazon hosted Nexus, its first global design systems summit, uniting more than 1,000 Amazonians across design, engineering, and product disciplines. With 22 independent design systems powering thousands of Amazon products, the event was created to foster alignment, knowledge-sharing, and innovation across a fragmented ecosystem. As one of six core organizers, I played a central role in shaping Nexus from the ground up—coining its name, designing its brand identity, and directing creative assets that gave the summit a clear, unifying presence. Beyond branding, Nexus established a platform for senior design system leaders worldwide to share principles, practices, and emerging paradigms, strengthening Amazon’s design culture at scale.
Context
Amazon’s design landscape is vast: 22 separate design systems, each serving different product and business needs. While these systems enabled speed and specialization, they also led to fragmentation, duplicate efforts, and limited cross-team visibility.
Nexus was conceived as a solution—a global forum where system owners, designers, engineers, and product managers could come together to share ideas, align on best practices, and build community across geographic and organizational boundaries. The challenge wasn’t only about creating an event, but about aligning stakeholders across continents, disciplines, and organizational priorities to foster a new culture of collaboration.
Context
Amazon’s design landscape is vast: 22 separate design systems, each serving different product and business needs. While these systems enabled speed and specialization, they also led to fragmentation, duplicate efforts, and limited cross-team visibility.
Nexus was conceived as a solution—a global forum where system owners, designers, engineers, and product managers could come together to share ideas, align on best practices, and build community across geographic and organizational boundaries. The challenge wasn’t only about creating an event, but about aligning stakeholders across continents, disciplines, and organizational priorities to foster a new culture of collaboration.
Context
Amazon’s design landscape is vast: 22 separate design systems, each serving different product and business needs. While these systems enabled speed and specialization, they also led to fragmentation, duplicate efforts, and limited cross-team visibility.
Nexus was conceived as a solution—a global forum where system owners, designers, engineers, and product managers could come together to share ideas, align on best practices, and build community across geographic and organizational boundaries. The challenge wasn’t only about creating an event, but about aligning stakeholders across continents, disciplines, and organizational priorities to foster a new culture of collaboration.
Process
Working with organizers and senior leaders in Seattle, Chicago, and Berlin, I helped define the summit’s mission: to connect Amazon’s design systems community and create a space for alignment, dialogue, and innovation. I proposed the name Nexus, representing both a link between independent systems and the collaboration of the disciplines that rely on them: design, engineering, and product.
Building on this concept, I designed the brand identity, centering on three translucent, overlapping circles—each symbolizing one of the core disciplines. Where they intersect, richer, brighter hues emerge, symbolizing the innovation that comes from cross-disciplinary collaboration. I then directed a distributed group of volunteer designers across Amazon, ensuring consistency and cohesion across all event assets, from signage and slides to digital communications.
Process
Working with organizers and senior leaders in Seattle, Chicago, and Berlin, I helped define the summit’s mission: to connect Amazon’s design systems community and create a space for alignment, dialogue, and innovation. I proposed the name Nexus, representing both a link between independent systems and the collaboration of the disciplines that rely on them: design, engineering, and product.
Building on this concept, I designed the brand identity, centering on three translucent, overlapping circles—each symbolizing one of the core disciplines. Where they intersect, richer, brighter hues emerge, symbolizing the innovation that comes from cross-disciplinary collaboration. I then directed a distributed group of volunteer designers across Amazon, ensuring consistency and cohesion across all event assets, from signage and slides to digital communications.
Process
Working with organizers and senior leaders in Seattle, Chicago, and Berlin, I helped define the summit’s mission: to connect Amazon’s design systems community and create a space for alignment, dialogue, and innovation. I proposed the name Nexus, representing both a link between independent systems and the collaboration of the disciplines that rely on them: design, engineering, and product.
Building on this concept, I designed the brand identity, centering on three translucent, overlapping circles—each symbolizing one of the core disciplines. Where they intersect, richer, brighter hues emerge, symbolizing the innovation that comes from cross-disciplinary collaboration. I then directed a distributed group of volunteer designers across Amazon, ensuring consistency and cohesion across all event assets, from signage and slides to digital communications.
Outcome
Nexus engaged more than 1,000 Amazonians globally, creating Amazon’s first company-wide platform for design system alignment. The summit strengthened Amazon’s design culture, established visibility for design systems as a strategic discipline, and built momentum for ongoing collaboration between teams that had previously operated in silos.
Outcome
Nexus engaged more than 1,000 Amazonians globally, creating Amazon’s first company-wide platform for design system alignment. The summit strengthened Amazon’s design culture, established visibility for design systems as a strategic discipline, and built momentum for ongoing collaboration between teams that had previously operated in silos.
Outcome
Nexus engaged more than 1,000 Amazonians globally, creating Amazon’s first company-wide platform for design system alignment. The summit strengthened Amazon’s design culture, established visibility for design systems as a strategic discipline, and built momentum for ongoing collaboration between teams that had previously operated in silos.