ashley zhu

Ideas in practice

I care about making design easier to understand, to share, and ultimately to create! Through talks, articles, and workshops, I explore the intersection of design systems, education, and emerging tools in the broader design community. Recently, I shared at international conference Converge how strategic enablement can drive confidence and trust for a design system.

My recent talk at Converge →

See the talk →
Ashley speaking on stage at Converge

Talks & workshops

  1. 2026Designing Your Own Thriving SystemUC Davis Design InteractiveGuest speaker and workshop for emerging designers connecting the principles of design systems with the practice of designing a more intentional life.
  2. 2025Design Systems: When Education ClicksConverge 2025International design systems conference exploring how thoughtful education can build adoption in design systems.
  3. 2026On AI Through a Design System LensCapital One Design ForumDesign system perspective on emerging AI tools, Figma, and how it affects our design practice.
  4. 2025Hidden Levels of Design System LearningRedwood’s Quarterly ConferenceWorkshop exploring the layers of learning that help teams understand and adopt design systems.
  5. 2025Legacy to Liftoff: Deprecation for the FutureCapital One DesignConBuilding a scalable deprecation strategy, from automated tooling to new practices for design system users.
  6. 2024Facts & Fables of a Design SystemCapital One Design ForumA conversation about the benefits, misconceptions, and realities of an enterprise design system.

Writings

  1. 2026How to Teach your Design SystemMediumMedium article, co-authored with Kacey Wood
  2. 2026The Case for Education in Your Design SystemMediumMedium article, co-authored with Kacey Wood
  3. 2025How Education Makes Your Design System ClickzeroheightCommissioned article for zeroheight blog

New sticker!

Field notes

Little things are hidden around the site. Find all nine to earn one of my sticker designs.

On the shelf

  • The tea on the table looks a little too full.
  • Someone should top up that mug once it runs dry.
  • The plants around here like a little attention.
  • The paper lamp on the shelf has a switch.
  • The red book on the shelf opens.
  • Turn the lights off and look near the plants.

Beside the menu

  • There is a cord hanging beside the menu.

Writing & talks

  • The projector on Writing & talks is ready to roll.

Studio

  • The laptop on the Studio page could use more stickers.