Case study summary

Challenge

In 2025, I led the effort to publish a redesigned Content Style Guide at Sage that would include a new section for product UI content.

When I joined Sage in 2022, product UI content guidelines barely existed and were scattered in many locations. Some teams had attempted to create these guidelines on wiki pages, while others had tried to embed them within the Sage Design System site. Still more of these guidelines appeared in an Accessibility Hub website and more again in a new AI Hub website. Finally, companies that had been acquired by Sage brought their own content guidelines with them. The lack of centralized product UI content guidelines was making it impossible for content design teams to create consistent UI content across Sage products, making customer experiences disjointed and sometimes frustrating. A single set of product UI content guidelines was needed to align teams across the company.

Approach

To address this, I needed to create a new section in the current content style guide and then move or archive the product UI content guidelines that existed in all the other locations.

As I began this work, it became clear that the current style guide needed a redesign. It contained many redundant topics, and the navigation was crowded and confusing. As I started writing the new product UI content guidelines, I simultaneously began an audit of the current site architecture. I gained approval from the content style guide committee to move forward with a new site navigation, and then I enlisted a writing partner to get the migration work completed while I continued writing the UI content section. 

Once the new site navigation was built, the work proceeded rapidly. Within 6 months from approval of the new navigation, the redesigned Content Style Guide site was live.

Outcome

In June, 2025, a new content style guide with a simplified navigation and a new product UI content section was published.

Sage employees have a single site to use for all content guidelines, including a new product UI content section.

Impact

Sage customers are beginning to experience a seamless, consistent experience across all content touchpoints.

Role

Lead Content Designer

Impact

Sage customers are experiencing consistent content across all products and touchpoints.

Outcome

Sage employees have a one-stop shop experience for all content guidelines, including product UI content.

Workshops

Content audit in Miro

New sitemap in Miro

Focus areas

Information architecture for a new site

Page layout design

Product UI content guidelines

Examples for product UI content guidelines created in Figma

Result

A new content style guide site with a new Product UI content section was built and published in 6 months.