Design Strategies

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At the heart of Constellation Design is the understanding that successful design aligns business objectives with end-user needs. This framework is built around five core strategies: Polaris, Orion, Vega, Andromeda, and Lyra. Together, they create a system that prioritizes measurable business impact and user satisfaction while fostering alignment across teams, systems, and operations.

The five strategies:

Polaris Strategy: Separate, Aligned Systems

Orion Strategy: Unified, Intertwined Systems

Vega Strategy: Guiding Brand Identity

Andromeda Strategy: Design Operations

Lyra Strategy: Harmonizing Teams

Polaris strategy: Separate, aligned systems

• What it Represents: Polaris symbolizes clarity and independence, guiding organizations where the Design Language System (DLS) and Design System (DS) operate as distinct entities but align through shared governance that prioritizes business and user alignment.
• Ideal For: Large, multi-disciplinary organizations with diverse branding and product needs.
• Examples: IBM’s Design Language and Carbon Design System ensure alignment between user expectations and organizational goals.

Orion strategy: Unified, intertwined systems

• What it Represents: Orion reflects unity, tightly integrating Design Language System (DLS) and Design System (DS) to ensure seamless collaboration and consistency across touchpoints, with business and user goals driving design decisions.
• Ideal For: Small to medium-sized, digital-first organizations prioritizing cohesion.
• Examples: Spotify’s Encore system and Airbnb’s Design Language System integrate user and business needs seamlessly.

Vega strategy: Guiding brand identity

• What it Represents: Vega symbolizes brightness and visibility, emphasizing the brand’s role as the guiding light for all design efforts, ensuring the brand’s narrative aligns with user expectations and business outcomes.
• Ideal For: Organizations prioritizing global brand consistency and storytelling.
• Examples: Multinational corporations like Coca-Cola ensure their branding reflects both market demands and user insights.

Andromeda strategy: design operations

• What it Represents: Andromeda embodies interconnectedness and scalability, with a high focus on building operational systems that enable efficiency and collaboration while addressing business and user priorities.
• Ideal For: Medium to large organizations managing distributed teams and complex workflows.
• Examples: Google’s design operations foster collaboration while ensuring business goals and user needs are met.

Lyra strategy: Harmonizing teams

• What it Represents: Lyra symbolizes harmony, ensuring that design teams; whether centralized, decentralized, or hybrid; collaborate effectively while keeping business impact and user experience at the forefront.
• Ideal For: Organizations of all sizes aiming to balance creativity and structure within teams.
• Examples: Medium-sized companies scaling design teams to prioritize both user outcomes and business alignment.