department of agriculture, fisheries and forestry
I’m the Senior Interaction Designer for AgDS - an open-source design system built on a modern React stack, supporting consistent, intuitive, and accessible digital services across government.
I’ve been involved in the project from the start and have led the design side of the system. My responsibilities include:
Pairing with developers to ensure components are not only usable and accessible, but also technically achievable
Designing and maintaining the Figma library, with interactive, production-aligned components
Creating clear, actionable documentation for design system consumers
Advising product teams on how to use the system effectively
Establishing governance processes to support sustainable, cross-team adoption
Facilitating community engagement through fortnightly design guilds and weekly office hours
AgDS was initiated as a replacement for the Australian Government Design System (GOLD), with a mandate to support a multi-year digital transformation program. We began with complex forms and public-facing websites, and have since expanded into applications and dashboards.
Today, AgDS includes:
81 components
16 patterns
50+ templates
Documentation for all aspects of the design system - including accessibility documentation
The system is now used by multiple federal departments and has fostered collaboration with state governments and private organisations. It’s a design system that scales - and one that teams actually want to use.
highlights
collaborating with the design community to understand their challenges and deliver solutions that make life easier
designing truly accessible experiences - achieving WCAG 2.1 certification
completing 2 accessibility audits with an industry powerhouse in the accessibility field
creating customisable, detail-focused components in Figma
working alongside talented, passionate people and supporting design system governance
figma implementation
Component Libraries
I set up and and continuously refined a robust component library in Figma. Built with flexible auto layout, boolean and instance-level variants, and slot-based design to accommodate diverse use cases.
Variables
Using Figma variables, I’ve created consistent spacing, colour, and typography systems. These tokens map directly to our codebase, reducing design/dev friction.
Usage Patterns & Templates
I’ve designed and documented a comprehensive suite of page-level templates, such as dashboards, forms, content pages, and tools. They were setup so that designers could self-serve by grabbing a screen (or sequence of screens) that they could copy directly into their file.
Branching & Version Control
I use Figma’s branching features to safely support our multi-team environment.
Accessibility Built In
Every component and pattern is built with WCAG 2.1 AA in mind. Clear focus states, proper label structures, logical reading order, and adequate contrast.
Cross-functional Enablement
I work closely with devs and content designers to ensure Figma reflects production reality. I’ve also led onboarding and created internal guides for designers to confidently use the system. I also ran weekly 'Office Hours' sessions to support the design and development communities.
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paul maher
sydney, australia