Michael
Dunn.
Work
Office design system — PowerPoint & Word at global scale
The challenge
Thousands of fee earners and business services staff across 50+ offices were producing client-facing documents and presentations with no consistent system — resulting in off-brand, inconsistent, and time-consuming output. The firm needed a solution that worked for non-designers at scale, without requiring central design support for every piece.
What I did
I developed a component-based design system across Microsoft Office — covering PowerPoint and Word. The system created a cohesive UI framework with standardised layouts, iconography, and interaction patterns to improve user experience and ensure globally consistent client presentations and marketing materials.
The design work was only part of the challenge. Driving adoption across a global, distributed workforce required governance frameworks, training programmes, and a shift in how the firm thought about self-service design.
What I built
- Master template system for PowerPoint covering all presentation types
- Word template system covering proposals, reports, and client documents
- Component library — layouts, icons, dividers, chart styles, image treatments
- Governance framework — versioning, distribution, and update process
- Training programmes — delivered to regional design leads and rolled out firm-wide
The outcome
The system was adopted by 7,000+ colleagues globally — reducing production time, improving consistency, and significantly reducing the volume of requests to the central design team.
Results
- 7,000+ staff using the system globally
- Significant reduction in production time per document
- Measurable improvement in brand consistency across client materials
Discipline
Design systems
My role
Concept
System design
Build
Rollout
Training
Practices
PowerPoint
Word
Component library design
Template governance
Skills
Design system architecture
Self-service enablement
Global rollout
User adoption
Impact
7000+ users globally
Significant reduction in production time
Improve brand consistency
Brand identity
Rebranding newly combined firm Norton Rose Fulbright#RiskReady — McLaren Racing partnership activationGlobal brand advertising — top 3 global legal brandDesign systems
Office design system — PowerPoint & Word at global scaleModernising website visual design and experience© Michael Dunn — 2026
Work
Office design system — PowerPoint & Word at global scale
The challenge
Thousands of fee earners and business services staff across 50+ offices were producing client-facing documents and presentations with no consistent system — resulting in off-brand, inconsistent, and time-consuming output. The firm needed a solution that worked for non-designers at scale, without requiring central design support for every piece.
What I did
I developed a component-based design system across Microsoft Office — covering PowerPoint and Word. The system created a cohesive UI framework with standardised layouts, iconography, and interaction patterns to improve user experience and ensure globally consistent client presentations and marketing materials.
The design work was only part of the challenge. Driving adoption across a global, distributed workforce required governance frameworks, training programmes, and a shift in how the firm thought about self-service design.
What I built
- Master template system for PowerPoint covering all presentation types
- Word template system covering proposals, reports, and client documents
- Component library — layouts, icons, dividers, chart styles, image treatments
- Governance framework — versioning, distribution, and update process
- Training programmes — delivered to regional design leads and rolled out firm-wide
The outcome
The system was adopted by 7,000+ colleagues globally — reducing production time, improving consistency, and significantly reducing the volume of requests to the central design team.
Results
- 7,000+ staff using the system globally
- Significant reduction in production time per document
- Measurable improvement in brand consistency across client materials
Discipline
Design systems
My role
Concept
System design
Build
Rollout
Training
Practices
PowerPoint
Word
Component library design
Template governance
Skills
Design system architecture
Self-service enablement
Global rollout
User adoption
Impact
7000+ users globally
Significant reduction in production time
Improve brand consistency
Brand identity
Rebranding newly combined firm Norton Rose Fulbright#RiskReady — McLaren Racing partnership activationGlobal brand advertising — top 3 global legal brandDesign systems
Office design system — PowerPoint & Word at global scaleModernising website visual design and experience© Michael Dunn — 2026
Work
Office design system — PowerPoint & Word at global scale
The challenge
Thousands of fee earners and business services staff across 50+ offices were producing client-facing documents and presentations with no consistent system — resulting in off-brand, inconsistent, and time-consuming output. The firm needed a solution that worked for non-designers at scale, without requiring central design support for every piece.
What I did
I developed a component-based design system across Microsoft Office — covering PowerPoint and Word. The system created a cohesive UI framework with standardised layouts, iconography, and interaction patterns to improve user experience and ensure globally consistent client presentations and marketing materials.
The design work was only part of the challenge. Driving adoption across a global, distributed workforce required governance frameworks, training programmes, and a shift in how the firm thought about self-service design.
What I built
- Master template system for PowerPoint covering all presentation types
- Word template system covering proposals, reports, and client documents
- Component library — layouts, icons, dividers, chart styles, image treatments
- Governance framework — versioning, distribution, and update process
- Training programmes — delivered to regional design leads and rolled out firm-wide
The outcome
The system was adopted by 7,000+ colleagues globally — reducing production time, improving consistency, and significantly reducing the volume of requests to the central design team.
Results
- 7,000+ staff using the system globally
- Significant reduction in production time per document
- Measurable improvement in brand consistency across client materials
Discipline
Design systems
My role
Concept
System design
Build
Rollout
Training
Practices
PowerPoint
Word
Component library design
Template governance
Skills
Design system architecture
Self-service enablement
Global rollout
User adoption
Impact
7000+ users globally
Significant reduction in production time
Improve brand consistency
Brand identity
Rebranding newly combined firm Norton Rose Fulbright#RiskReady — McLaren Racing partnership activationGlobal brand advertising — top 3 global legal brandDesign systems
Office design system — PowerPoint & Word at global scaleModernising website visual design and experience© Michael Dunn — 2026