Nick Hubley, Design Leader, Systems and AI. Illustration: a small traveller with an orange pack stands on a black mountain peak under a large violet planet with an orbiting orange moon.
Illustration: a cream stone archway opens onto a starry night. A striped road winds up to it through black cliffs, and the traveller walks it as you scroll.
Ch.02 / Explore
Every system starts as a door nobody has opened yet.
From idea to system. Walk through and see what is on the other side.
Scroll to walk through
Ch.04 / Build
Small decisions scale
Up close, it is the small decisions that grow into something.
I'm Nick Hubley, and I've always loved building things: carpentry in the workshop, sound as a lifelong audiophile, and systems that create joy in others. For more than 17 years that has meant brand, product and design systems, and I'm still a digital artist at heart. These days I'm happiest building things and learning new ones.
Outside of work I mentor emerging designers in design systems, accessibility and leadership. Building an inclusive design community matters as much to me as the products we create.
How I work
- 01Foundations firstI start from decisions, not screens. Clear governance is what makes a team last: room for creative thought, clear workstreams, DEI built in, regular team meets, and simply listening.
- 02Inclusive by defaultInclusive design is personal to me. Accessibility belongs in the foundations, where every team that builds on the system inherits it.
- 03Adoption is the workSystems spread through people. I pair with product teams, run show and tells, and mentor designers.
- 04Team strategy before workBefore any work starts, the team agrees what we are solving, why it matters, who owns what, and how we will know it worked.
Toolkit
Figma and FigJam, custom Figma plugins and the Figma MCP, Leonardo Color, Storybook, AEM, Supernova, Confluence, GitHub, Copilot and the Microsoft Azure Emotion API.
Illustration: orange flowers on dark stems grow and sway over violet brush strokes.
Ch.05 / How I lead
Systems scale through people
Good teams, like good systems, are built from the foundations up.
Lead by doing
I started Nubley Digital in my first year of mechanical engineering, and its rapid growth inspired me to leave university and build the business full-time. I learned leadership by doing: setting a clear direction, trusting my team to find their way, and being there to remove roadblocks and support their decisions.
Hold the standard
Carpentry taught me that the unseen foundations matter most. I bring that mindset to my teams by making time for the basics, setting a clear quality bar, and giving people the freedom to meet it.
Make room for everyone
Inclusion is personal to me, not a policy. I build teams where people feel safe to speak, different perspectives are sought out, and everyone can see themselves in the work.
Help people grow
At every step, someone made time for me. I make that time for others: I coach, mentor and share what I know, and I measure success by how much my people grow.
17 years, one thread
- 2009 to nowNubley DigitalFounder. I help brands build digital platforms, from UX, branding and accessibility to front-end engineering and design systems. Clients include Audi, BIMM, Harvey Kalles, Postmedia, Red Hat, etc.
- 2014 to 2016WIP IndustriesCo-founder and Creative Director. As a co-founder I helped run the business and set its direction, growing it from 100 to more than 7 million users
- 2018 to 2021UX CollectiveFreelance UX writer, covering user research, culture, AI and machine learning
- 2021 to 2023CeridianCo-founded the Everest design system for Dayforce: the first components and colour tokens within two weeks, an intake process for more than 1,500 stakeholders, and Ceridian's first Figma plugin. Then, on the Tiger Team, rolled Everest out across the product suite seven months ahead of schedule
- 2023 to 2026ScotiabankSenior Product Designer and Team Lead. Founded Compass, consolidating 220+ components into 21, and led the Scotiabank.com redesign for more than 25 million users: 13% more brand engagement, pages loading in 0.5 seconds instead of 4.5, and 20% more conversions
- 2026 to nowNurun, Publicis GroupeSenior Product Design Lead, Design Systems and AI. Founded and architected Symbiotique, the AI-native design system for the Publicis Groupe network, end to end: tokens, components, governance, documentation, Figma plugins, and training for designers and engineers
Volunteering and community
Ch.06 / Arrive
Let's connect.
Always happy to talk design systems, design tokens, accessibility and AI-assisted design, or to swap notes on mentoring and community. Based in Toronto.
Collect 6 of the 9 stamps to contact me.
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Illustration: the traveller waves from the shore of a violet lake ringed by black hills and orange trees.