To do my job effectively as a UI designer at Toyota, I was provided with three key resources: assets, documentation, and their CMS. I received all the imagery intended for the Kinto launch, a comprehensive document outlining existing components and web designs, and an in-depth one-on-one session with the project owner to walk me through their Tridion CMS.

These resources not only gave me everything I needed to deliver designs that were creative and aligned with Toyota’s standards, but also provided guidance on how far I could push outside the existing creative—something that was extremely important for shaping Kinto’s distinct identity.

The next step was iteration. I worked from user flows and content provided by the team, while regular sessions with the product owner guided the direction. Through wireframes, sketches, and early design explorations. We refined the concepts through several rounds of feedback and iteration, ensuring the final direction struck the right balance between creativity and practicality.

The solution not only worked within the constraints of Tridion CMS but was also designed to be scalable, allowing components to be reused and adapted across future pages. Each component was carefully crafted to reflect the Kinto brand identity while maintaining consistency with Toyota’s established standards, resulting in a design system that was both flexible and implementation-ready.

A key part of my role was not just designing components, but also implementing them directly within Toyota’s Tridion CMS. This meant I had to quickly get to grips with the system inside and out—a steep learning curve given its outdated UI and rigid structure, which made it far from user friendly. To deliver what was needed.

I relied heavily on my front-end expertise, building and adjusting webpages in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript so the designs could work seamlessly within Tridion’s limitations.