Advancing Ripple’s design system with a reusable filter pattern
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.
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”
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
Reduced projected time on task for designers by 66%
Delivered a reusable filter component to Ripple’s design system
Introduced usability testing practices into the design systems workflow
Improved product scalability and user experience across B2B tools
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.