Longchamp

A brand book with no system logic. 13 weeks later: 80+ components, 24 markets, zero localisation debt.

Role

Lead · DS Architecture · Solo

Challenge

Brand book. No system logic.

Scope

Tokens · Components · RTL · Intl

Impact

80+ components. 24 markets. 13 weeks.

01 · Situation

A beautiful brand. No system to deploy it with.

A visually precise brand identity with no system logic. No tokens, no components, no documented decisions. Just a brand book, and 24 markets, 7 languages, RTL to support, in 13 weeks.

✕ Brand book only

A visually strong identity with no system logic, no tokens and no component thinking

✕ 24 markets

International deployment requiring RTL adaptation and 7-language support from day one

✕ No baseline

Integration team had no shared design language to build against

✕ 13 weeks

Full architecture, documentation and handoff in a timeline that left no room for iteration

The real challenge

02 · Approach

One architecture. Three delivery tracks.

Token architecture first. Components second. International adaptation built in from day one, not patched after delivery.

Token architecture

Tension

A brand with values. No variables.

Every visual decision existed as a one-off choice. Nothing was referenceable, overridable or localisable.

Call

Extract the logic. Build a 2-level token architecture.

Extracted the brand logic into a 2-level token structure. Figma variables navigable by the integration team from day one.

Result

Brand book → operable token system.

Brand book → operable system. JSON exports eliminated interpretation friction. Updates inherited automatically.

Component library

Tension

No baseline. 80+ components to build.

No component baseline to extend. 80+ components to build from scratch, faithful to a brand never designed for product contexts.

Call

Atomic design. Full variant coverage. No exceptions.

Atomic design, no shortcuts. Every component shipped with full state coverage. Annotations written in parallel.

Result

80+ components. Documented. Deployable. No debt.

80+ components. Documented. Deployable. Zero debt. Integration team built without ambiguity.

International adaptation

Tension

A system built for French. A brand deployed everywhere.

Arabic and Hebrew markets needed full RTL. 7 languages introduced text length constraints across every component.

Call

Design for the hardest context first.

RTL treated as a first-class constraint from the token level up. Language stress-testing embedded in QA.

Result

One system. 24 markets. Zero localisation debt.

One system. 24 markets. Zero localisation debt. RTL markets launched on the same library as LTR.

Take away

03 · Outcomes

What 13 weeks produced.

Architecture was the only deliverable that mattered. Everything else scaled from there.

Before→After

Brand book. No system logic.

→

2-level token architecture

No component baseline

→

80+ documented components

No RTL or language support

→

24 markets. 7 languages. Zero debt.

Integration team building blind

→

JSON token exports. No friction.

full delivery

13w

token architecture to international deployment

components

80+

documented, full variant and state coverage

markets

deployed on a single shared system

localisation debt

RTL and 7-language support built in from day one

04 · Takeaways

Three things this confirmed.

Getting the architecture right is faster than working fast. Token layer first. Everything else scales from there.

RTL is not a localisation task. It is a design constraint. Treat it last and you pay twice.

Embedded solo design removes translation friction. Decisions made in the room where delivery happens.

Closing

The brand was the input. The system was the work.

A brand book with no system logic. 13 weeks later: 80+ components, 24 markets, zero localisation debt.

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