VMware Cloud Foundation + Clarity Design System
Aligning complex enterprise products into one cohesive, scalable platform with the help of Clarity Design System
About
VMware Cloud Foundation
Transitioning from a portfolio of standalone products into a unified platform offering.
Following VMware’s acquisition by Broadcom, the organisation faced a critical transformation. This required more than visual alignment.
It required:
- Cross-product experience consistency
- Unified interaction patterns
- Shared architectural principles
- Governance across distributed product teams
- A scalable system capable of enterprise-level evolution
The challenges
Fragmented Experience Architecture
Each product evolved independently, resulting in inconsistent navigation models, interaction patterns, and UI conventions.
Distributed Cross-Product Design Ownership
Multiple product teams operated with varying design maturity, contributing to system drift and duplication.
Inconsistent Component and Patterns Usage
Clarity Design System existed and was used - but adoption varied significantly across teams.
Enterprise Accessibility Requirements
As products merged, accessibility compliance needed to be standardized at the platform level.
About
Clarity
Design
System
Clarity Design System was not simply a UI toolkit - it became the structural backbone for platform unification.
We leveraged Clarity to:
- Standardise interaction models
- Align visual language across products
- Enforce accessibility standards
- Reduce engineering redundancy
- Accelerate feature delivery
Org and Product-wide Governance Alignment
Partnered with system maintainers and product stakeholders to define usage guidelines and adoption strategy.
Cross-Product Component and Patterns Audits
Conducted systematic audits to identify inconsistencies, redundancy, and deviation from Clarity standards.
Token & Patterns Platform Standardisation
Aligned design tokens and interaction patterns to support platform-level cohesion.
Implementing Accessibility by design
Advanced accessibility compliance by aligning product teams to standardized system practices and WCAG compliance.
Process
Systematising governance, adoption, operational model, system evolution, and executive alignment.
Phase 1
Ecosystem Mapping
- Conducted cross-product UI audits
- Mapped component usage and deviation patterns
- Identified duplication across products
- Accelerate feature delivery
Phase 2
Platform Experience Principles
- Consistency over customisation
- System-first thinking
- Accessibility by design
- Component reuse before new creation
Phase 3
Operationalising Adoption
- Cross-team design syncs
- Documentation improvements
- Governance reviews for major features
- Clarity-first design reviews
- Engineering alignment sessions
Phase 4
Continuous Evolution
- Feedback loops from product quads
- Iterative component refinement
- Contribution workflows
- Version alignment