UX Designer & Product Strategist · Brooklyn, NY

Grant
Thomas

I help cross-functional teams translate messy, complex problems into elegant product experiences — without losing the strategic intent somewhere between Figma and production.

For the past 9 years I've been the lead designer on Eli Lilly's enterprise design system — a platform serving 100k+ employees, 50+ global pharmaceutical brands, and products used by millions of patients worldwide.

See the Work ↓
9+
Years at Eli Lilly
50+
Global Brands Served
100k+
Employees on the System

Selected Work

2014 — Present
HCT-based color system — tonal palette grid

How I Pushed Back on Wieden+Kennedy and Built Eli Lilly's Color System

W+K proposed a brand red that failed accessibility and was too close to J&J's identity. I came back with data, an alternative, and the color architecture that now powers Lilly's entire brand portfolio.

Color Systems Design Systems Accessibility Brand Design
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Lilly Design System documentation portal

Untangling 8 Years of Documentation Debt for 100k+ Employees

Comprehensive research and redesign of enterprise design system documentation — reducing support requests, accelerating deployment cycles, and finally giving 100k+ employees a resource worth using.

Enterprise UX Design Systems User Research Information Architecture
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Date Picker component after redesign

Modernizing an Outdated Component Across a Global Design System

A post-refresh audit revealed compounding issues in a single enterprise component. The fix was surgical — the impact was system-wide.

Component Redesign Design Systems Accessibility Figma
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Skills Assessment Tool — Details, Skill, and Team Overview screens

Turning a Team Audit Into a Strategic Advantage

Built a SQL-powered skills system that replaced gut-feel staffing decisions with real data — and surfaced capabilities leadership didn't know they had.

Data Analysis Google Sheets System Design SQL
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Pecking Order — app splash screen

The Game That Made Two Strangers Fall in Love

Built a week-long social strategy game from scratch. The mechanics were so good at creating genuine connection, two players who met through gameplay got engaged.

Game Design Social UX Product Development Laravel
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Critterpedia — Animal Crossing critter tracker

I Built the Tool I Couldn't Find

A fan-made critter tracker for Animal Crossing: New Horizons — because the right one didn't exist. Filter all 200 critters by month, hemisphere, type, and catch status. Still live today.

Hobby Project Vanilla JS Data Modeling Mobile-First
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About Me

The work. Nine years on Eli Lilly's enterprise design system. Researcher, designer, Scrum Master, Product Owner, lead architect — I've held nearly every role because I've always believed you make better design decisions when you understand everything surrounding them.

The approach. Deep discovery before solutions. Accessibility as a baseline, not an afterthought. Staying in the room through the build — not tossing work over the wall.

Outside of work. Boulderer, street photographer, reader. Happiest somewhere unfamiliar.

Full Bio →

Research & Strategy

  • Qual & Quant Research
  • User Interviews
  • Data Analysis & SQL
  • Product Strategy

Design & Systems

  • Design Systems
  • Information Architecture
  • Figma & Prototyping
  • Visual Design

Product & Leadership

  • Product Ownership
  • Scrum Master
  • Stakeholder Management
  • Cross-functional Collab

Technical

  • Front-end Development
  • Google Sheets / SQL
  • API Specification
  • Analytics & Metrics

Let's Work
Together

Available for senior IC and lead roles in design systems, product design, and UX strategy. Let's talk.

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