PNC Email + Direct Mail Design Systems

Building scalable creative infrastructure for compliant, omnichannel marketing.

Overview

In 2025, I led the strategy, architecture, and rollout of two enterprise-grade design systems at PNC Bank—a modular Email Design System and a Tiered Direct Mail System. Both were designed to increase creative efficiency, maintain compliance, and scale campaign execution across the organization.

My Role

Creative Engineering Supervisor | System Architect | Strategic Lead | Art Director

Directed end-to-end design and rollout of both systems
Built Figma-based component libraries using semantic tokens
Developed cross-functional training, documentation, and comms
Bridged strategy, design, dev, and compliance teams

The Challenge

PNC's creative workflows were fragmented and inefficient. Teams were:

Rebuilding layouts from scratch
Struggling with compliance reviews
Slowed down by custom formats and inconsistent assets
Lacking a scalable foundation for campaign execution

Mandate: Fix it. Scale it. Make it intuitive and foolproof

The Solution

PNC Email Design System

"Figma-based. Token-powered. Built for consistent, compliant, and scalable email."

Modular Figma library built with semantic tokens
Component Integrated Modules (CIM) with live-text and compliance zones
Developer-ready documentation including token reference guides
Legal locking mechanisms to protect critical copy zones
Internal training decks, onboarding FAQs, and system glossary

Tiered Direct Mail System

"Bronze. Silver. Gold. A tiered framework that simplifies production and improves testing."

Format menu based on budget, effort, and strategic goals
Modular DM layouts mapped to Bronze/Silver/Gold tiers
Versioning thresholds and rules to avoid creative overreach
Client-facing decision tools including flowcharts and tier one-pagers
Training materials and rollout comms tailored to internal and client audiences

Execution & Rollout

Built dual-track rollout strategies with tailored comms
Authored all internal/external documentation
Created a centralized SharePoint system for version control and hosting
Led internal training, legal alignment, and client presentations

Delivery Timeline:

Email System: Internal rollout by April
DM System: Full adoption by June

System Logic

Modular: Components and modules can be reused, remixed, and scaled easily
Tokenized: Typography, spacing, and color are controlled via semantic tokensTiered: Direct Mail formats follow predefined rulesets based on effort and ROI
Compliant: Legal zones are pre-approved and locked for reuse

Impact

Reduced production timelines by eliminating guesswork
Minimized legal/compliance risk across both channels
Improved QA handoff with clear token-to-code logic
Enabled scalable personalization and performance testing
Increased adoption and clarity across all contributing teams

Final Note

This wasn’t just a system upgrade. It was a strategic evolution of how PNC delivers omnichannel campaigns—bridging creativity, compliance, and technology through systems thinking.

Built to scale. Built to last.

Assets Available Upon Request

System One-Pager PDFs (Email + DM)
Training Deck Previews
Token Reference Guide
Tiered Format Menu
DEV Handoff Packages
Figma Preview Link