Work — Bao To
Every project by Bao To, a design engineer and studio artist in New York: AI-era product work, design systems, and full-stack builds, filterable by kind. Each entry opens a case study.
SAGESURE DESIGN SYSTEM INTERNSHIP
Building Infra to speed up Design System workflows by 4x
INTERNSHIP ROLES
Design Engineering
Design Systems Designer
DURATION
June - Aug 2025 (10 weeks)
SKILLS
UI/UX
User Research
Software Development
TOOL
Cursor, Figma, Storybook, Zeroheight
TEAM MEMBERS & ROLES
Bao To, Intern
Rachael Greene, Principal Designer
Ben Bailes, AVP of Design
Time:2 weeks
Tools:Cursor, Figma Plugins API, Claude Code
FEATURES
- 1. AI Chat + Grounded Search through Gemini/OpenAI
- 2. UX Content Linter
- 3. Design System Sync
- 4. File-level WCAG Contrast Checker
- 5. Storybook MDX + codebase access through npm package
TRY THE PUBLIC VERSION
Figma Copilot Plugin Demo
Time:2.5 weeks
Tools:Cursor, Claude Code, Figma REST API, Storybook, Zeroheight
Storybook Integration Demo
RESULT
- 1. Removes Zeroheight from tech stack (saving money)
- 2. Allows 1 Design System Designer to own all documentation
- 3. One platform-agnostic source of truth for all design system info (for both design & code) all in one codebase.
→ AI-native, cost-efficient, low-maintenance design system
Audience:Design & Engineering Team
Tools demoed:Cursor, Lovable, Bolt, Figma Make
MAIN POINTS
- 1. 4 Levels of Usage of AI in Design
- 2. Which tool to use within the AI prototyping spectrum (Figma - Figma Make - Lovable - Cursor)
- 3. Prototyping vs. Production-level code
- 4. Vibecoding with a Design System mindset
SEE MY SLIDES
Hack Day Presentation Slides
TAKEAWAYS
Key Learnings
1
Designing goes beyond how it looks - designing new workflows and integrating new tech into the infrastructure will help designers and engineers in the long run.
2
AI integration into existing company workflows requires careful, thoughtful consideration and communication between designers & engineers - there is a bar for quality that still needs to be passed despite AI tools speeding up the process.
3
Design System = System Design. Building in DesignOps is very different from building customer-facing software
And I learned so much new stuff everyday, through asking for support & help from other designers, engineers, and managers!
CONNECT WITH ME
Don't like my portfolio? Let me know at btt2118@columbia.edu