eileen cahill

Establishing a design system filter pattern

Establishing a design system filter pattern

At Ripple, a global fintech company, I worked with the design systems team to create a scalable filtering experience for complex B2B data tables.

I audited patterns across the product, explored how filters could accommodate different data types and workflows, and designed a flexible component that made dense information easier to navigate. I also documented interaction guidance and collaborated with designers and engineers to ensure the pattern was reusable, consistent, and ready for adoption across Ripple’s enterprise products.

ROLE

Product Designer & Design Systems Intern

SCOPE

Scalable table-filter pattern, interaction design, testing and design system integration

TEAM

Design systems and cross-functional product partners

TIMELINE

12 weeks

WHAT I DID

Designed a reusable side-panel filter system and piloted lightweight usability testing

OUTCOME

A scalable pattern that preserves data visibility while making complex filtering easier to use

ROLE

Product Designer & Design Systems Intern

SCOPE

Scalable table-filter pattern, interaction design, testing and design system integration

TEAM

Design systems and cross-functional product partners

TIMELINE

12 weeks

WHAT I DID

Designed a reusable side-panel filter system and piloted lightweight usability testing

OUTCOME

A scalable pattern that preserves data visibility while making complex filtering easier to use

Overview

Overview

Overview

At Ripple, I designed a scalable filter system pattern for data tables as part of the company’s design system. The goal of this work was to increase consistency across products and supporting a scalable UX framework.

I created side-panel filter components, defined interaction patterns, and piloted usability testing to ensure the pattern was intuitive, efficient, and ready for reuse across multiple products. I also worked with cross-functional teams to integrate the new filter system into the design system library.

Role: Product Designer, Design Systems Intern

Timeline: 12 weeks

Scope: Filter system pattern, interaction design, usability testing, design system integration, design operations

Impact

Impact

Impact

3x

3x

FASTER

DELIVERY

FASTER

DELIVERY

10+

10+

PRODUCT FEATURES

UNIFIED

PRODUCT FEATURES

UNIFIED

1

1

SCALABLE

WORKFLOW

SCALABLE

WORKFLOW

Problem

Problem

Problem

Ripple’s existing filter design wasn’t built for scale. As more filters were added, the layout pushed data down the screen, slowed designers, and lacked a way to save commonly used filter sets.

How might we create a filter experience that is scalable, consistent, and efficient across B2B products?

Process

Process

Process

I analyzed existing patterns across fintech and SaaS tools:


Mint: Chips + popover → good for quick removal of active filters.

Charles Schwab: Grouped modal filters → strong personalization but obscured critical table data.

Salesforce: Side panel filters with “Save sets” → preserved data visibility and added reusability.

This analysis shaped my approach toward a side panel solution with chip-style visibility.

Solution

Solution

Solution

I explored different layouts and landed on a sliding side panel that matched the table height.


Key design decisions:

  • Surface most-used filters upfront

  • Collapse additional filters under “+ More Filters”

  • Add “Save and Apply” alongside quick “Apply”

Testing

Testing

Testing

Since usability testing wasn’t standard for the Design Systems team, I piloted a lightweight test plan.

Findings:

  • Users could easily locate filters, though some confused filter vs sort

  • Icon-only “Save” wasn’t intuitive → replaced with labeled button

  • Side panel was intuitive and preferred over modals

What I learned

What I learned

What I learned

This project was an important milestone in my growth as a systems thinker:

  • I learned how to balance scalability vs simplicity, ensuring the component works across multiple contexts without overwhelming the user.

  • Piloting usability testing in a design systems context showed me the value of bringing evidence into foundational design decisions, not just product features.

  • If I could push further, I would explore cross-product adoption: how filters could be standardized not just within one table type but across multiple tools in Ripple’s ecosystem.