UX and design system – annual global research initiative at MIT

The State of Supply Chain Sustainability Research effort and report spanned four years, with a 50% growth in respondents and downloads each year. Our strategy was to leverage our sponsor network and social media influencers (primarily on LinkedIn) under the slogan, “There is no sustainability without supply chain sustainability.”

Through survey and interview design, interactive website design, press releases, webinars, events, influencer engagement, and selected sponsor engagement, we successfully permeated our message to supply chain practitioners globally to achieve survey results and ultimately drive downloads of the final product each year. The report has been featured in 100s of publications, from the World Economic Forum to the Wall Street Journal.

Arthur Grau served as the art director and product manager. From October to December, we collaborated on the survey and user interview process design and produced the interactive website, webinars, and paid digital, email, and social media research outreach. Research scientists compiled results and critical findings from December to April. Our team edited and advised on the storytelling. We produced the digital downloads, accompanying website, outreach events, and social campaigns from April through September.

With this process, we iteratively crafted a design system for the publication, website, marketing, and publicity. The design system maintained thematic continuity year to year while allowing for distinctive features for any given year. Colors and elemental themes rotated through the years. This system was translated from Figma and Adobe to common office suite tools to ensure its longevity regardless of future product owners’ design or technical know-how. Print, web, and social media utilized the Tableau design system alongside art created in Illustrator.