A Fragmented User Experience
Over time, CDK’s Digital Marketing and Dealer Management platform had evolved through multiple product teams and business units—each developing applications independently. Additional products acquired through mergers and acquisitions further contributed to a fragmented user experience. This created an urgent need for a unified system to ensure consistency and establish design patterns that could support a complex suite of enterprise applications.
CDK’s Global Design System
To address this, our UX and front-end engineering teams developed RADIAL, CDK’s global design system, built on Google’s Material Design framework. RADIAL became the most comprehensive design system in the automotive marketing and dealer services space, featuring:
•A robust React-based pattern library
•Scalable design and development resources for UI designers, front-end developers, and product managers
•A centralized design and documentation hub in Frontify for governance and brand management
Four Areas of Focus
Through an extensive audit of CDK’s enterprise product ecosystem, four key interface patterns emerged as priorities for standardization:
•Data Tables
•Forms and Detail Pages
•Global Header and Navigation
•Data Visualization
Visual Design Support
Beyond UI standards and governance, the Core UX team expanded its role to provide visual design support for product teams company-wide—helping align interfaces, enhance usability, and reinforce brand cohesion across CDK’s growing digital ecosystem.
Beyond UI standards and governance, the Core UX team expanded its role to provide visual design support for product teams company-wide—helping align interfaces, enhance usability, and reinforce brand cohesion across CDK’s growing digital ecosystem.