Fidelity Investments
Expanding a Design System to Unblock Creativity and Accelerate Innovation
capability
Brand Identity
Brand Standards
Design Systems
Governance
User Research
Workflows
category
Design & UI
Project Management
Research & Strategy
User Experience
industry
Financial Services
Fidelity Investments needed to break free from rigid design patterns and unlock greater flexibility within their design system. While their internal team updated brand standards, they struggled to apply them strategically in digital experiences. Oomph helped expand their system, reimagine content layouts, and introduce new editorial storytelling strategies. By enhancing modular design components and improving workflows, we accelerated Fidelity’s ability to scale design updates with confidence and creativity.
THE CHALLENGE
The Challenge
Fidelity Investments manages one of the most extensive content ecosystems in financial services, producing a constant stream of insights, trend analyses, and investment strategies. However, its design team faced a critical challenge — their design system felt restrictive rather than empowering.
While Fidelity’s internal team was updating brand standards, they struggled to apply them strategically within their digital experience. The design system supported incremental changes but lacked the flexibility to evolve with new ways of presenting content. Designers felt stuck in familiar patterns, limiting opportunities to rethink layouts, improve content discovery, and enhance engagement.
To break free from these constraints, Fidelity brought in Oomph to infuse fresh thinking, introduce new editorial layout strategies, and expand the capabilities of their design system.
OUR APPROACH
Oomph worked inside Fidelity’s existing design system, bringing an outside perspective to challenge old assumptions and push the boundaries of their brand standards.
Reimagining Editorial Storytelling
With Fidelity generating massive amounts of financial content, our team explored new ways to organize and present information. We conducted a cohort analysis of leading editorial experiences across industries, studying how different platforms arranged related content, structured topic-based storytelling, and guided users through complex financial narratives.
We then worked within Fidelity’s Figma files, prototyping new layout variations that:
- Allowed for dynamic grouping of content by topic, trend, or investor interest.
- Introduced larger, more structured content modules to replace scattered individual components.
- Created scalable patterns that could adapt to different content types and investment themes.
Expanding the Design System Beyond Incremental Updates
While Fidelity’s internal team was busy refining brand alignment, we helped them move beyond small tweaks to explore new possibilities. Our role was to:
- Push the boundaries of what was possible within their existing system.
- Experiment with layouts that weren’t explicitly outlined in the brand standards.
- Provide fresh external perspectives on how the brand could evolve digitally.
Collaboration & Seamless Handoff
We worked side by side with Fidelity’s internal team, ensuring every new layout and component fit within their development and governance structure. While Oomph focused on strategy and design, Fidelity’s team took the lead on integrating new components into their system and coding them into production.
Our handoff process included:
- Detailed design annotations and functionality breakdowns.
- Guidance on flexibility—such as how components could adapt to different use cases.
- Clear expectations for future scalability and content governance.
By the end of the engagement, Fidelity had not only expanded their design system but also re-energized their creative thinking.
THE RESULTS
A More Flexible, Scalable Design System
Oomph helped Fidelity’s design team break free from rigid design patterns and accelerate innovation by delivering:
- A reimagined editorial content strategy that improves engagement and storytelling.
- Expanded design system components that allow for more dynamic content grouping.
- A faster, more creative design workflow that helps Fidelity scale design updates with confidence.
By combining fresh creativity with structured execution, Fidelity was able to move forward with clarity, confidence, and a more powerful digital experience.
Helping Enterprises Scale Design Without Sacrificing Innovation
For large enterprises, design systems should accelerate progress—not slow it down. If your team is struggling with applying brand standards, creating scalable content models, or evolving your digital experience, let’s talk.
