Designing for Clarity

Building a Collateral System That Works as Hard as It Looks

Design systems aren’t just for digital.

One of the projects I recently led at Topcon was the creation of our collateral design system, a suite of Adobe InDesign templates and visual standards built to help teams around the world produce materials efficiently while keeping a consistent and recognizable brand voice. The goal was simple but ambitious: make every piece of communication reflect the same precision and professionalism as our products.

The challenge was to build something global teams could actually use, while still leaving room for creativity.

We started with a full audit of the industry, studying how leading brands structure technical information and balance visuals with data. From there, we applied atomic design thinking to print. Every type style, layout, and visual element became a reusable component within a larger system. The result is a modular framework that allows teams to move quickly without sacrificing quality.

But beyond the templates and structure, this project reflects something I’ve learned throughout my career in brand and marketing design. Not every project needs to be the flashiest or most expressive. Sometimes the real challenge is creating clarity out of complexity, especially when design intersects with technical communication.

At Topcon, much of my work involves taking highly detailed information and structuring it in a way that anyone can understand quickly and confidently. That process takes precision, consistency, and empathy for the end user.

Good design in this space isn’t loud. It’s invisible. It guides instead of trying to impress. And when it works, it quietly builds trust in both the material and the brand behind it.

What we built with the collateral system goes beyond consistency. It’s a smarter, more scalable framework that brings clarity, efficiency, and creativity together. It’s design that not only looks good on paper, but actually helps people communicate better and tell the brand’s story with confidence.

See more of this project here: Topcon Collateral Design System