Weronika Waszkiewicz
UX Designer
GDS DesDev Hackathon – How the Design System Supports Collaboration and Innovation at RBI
The second edition of the hackathon organized by the Vienna-based Group Design System Freya team is behind us. This unique event brought together specialists from various RBI Group countries who worked together on developing and improving the design system used in our projects. During the intense work sessions, teams tested how well the solutions proposed by GDS perform in practice and how they can be applied in everyday work. At Raiffeisen Tech, we value knowledge sharing, engagement, collaboration, learning, and joy – values perfectly reflected by this hackathon. But what exactly did the hackathon look like through the eyes of our participants?
Design System in Action
The Vienna-based Group Design System Freya team invited us to participate in another edition of the hackathon dedicated to developing and testing GDS – a unified design system for the entire RBI Group. This was not an ordinary event, but an intense, international gathering of designers and developers who spent several hours together searching for the best UX/UI solutions. The centerpiece of the event was the redesign of the Raiffeisen Research portal, carried out using GDS components, design patterns, and documentation.
The goal of the hackathon was to practically test the created Design System and collect valuable feedback from its users — designers and developers. Instead of theoretical presentations, participants focused on practice: coding in Angular, designing in Figma, and using ready-made components.
What is GDS Freya?
The Group Design System Freya team is responsible for developing a consistent and accessible design system for the entire RBI Group. A design system is a set of components, tokens, and design patterns that facilitate the creation of digital products aligned with brand identity and user requirements. More information about this can be found in our earlier Tech Blog post.
Hackathon as a Form of Testing and Co-Creation of the System
During the hackathon, teams focused on redesigning the Raiffeisen Research portal using the resources of the GDS system. This not only allowed them to better understand its capabilities but also provided the Freya team with valuable insights for further development.
Throughout the event, words like “contribution” and “collaboration” were often heard — participants from various countries, including Romania, Ukraine, Kosovo, Poland, and Slovakia, worked together on tasks, strengthening integration and experience exchange. The hackathon served as a user test – organizers observed how designers and developers used the components, design patterns, and storybook created by the GDS team.
With Whom? With the Entire RBI!
45 participants from 9 countries worked in international teams, maintaining a balance between designers and developers to ensure effective collaboration and mutual learning. Raiffeisen Tech Poland was represented by a strong team that was then mixed with other hackathon participants:
- Weronika Waszkiewicz – Junior UX Designer
- Dominik Seroczyński – UX Designer
- Radosław Rak – Senior UX/UI Designer
- Marek Wesołowski – Frontend Developer
- Konrad Nowacki – Senior Frontend Developer
- Mateusz Czerniakowski – Junior Frontend Developer
- Piotr Ogórek – Senior Frontend Developer
The organizers encouraged mixing teams so that participants could not only develop ready solutions but also make new contacts and gain diverse design perspectives.
The organizing team was supported by Weronika Waszkiewicz, who works daily as a UX designer on the GDS project. On the day of the hackathon, she helped with the preparation and coordination of the entire event. From logistical arrangements, through communication with participants, to ensuring that every stage ran smoothly and in the spirit of collaboration. As she herself emphasizes:
We put a lot of work into preparing everything; the release of the latest functionalities was just before the hackathon, as we wanted the participants to have as many of our solutions to choose from as possible. While the teams were struggling with their tasks, one might say that we as organizers could finally relax and enjoy a coffee together – but in reality, each of us was alternating between stress and excitement, because our year-long work was about to be evaluated by the users. We are extremely happy that our design system was appreciated, and also that we now know what needs to be improved and fixed.
Tasks, Challenges, and Winners
Participants worked in seven teams on several challenges, including creating a three-level navigation, designing article pages and a multi-topic presentation view, as well as designing a new component — a carousel. Despite the limited time (3.5 hours), most teams took on multiple tasks.
The winner was Team MAAADS, with Dominik Seroczyński among its members, who completed all the assigned challenges. The solutions from Team Not Yet (led by Konrad Nowacki) and Team Dark Souls — which included our developers Marek Wesołowski, Mateusz Czerniakowski, Piotr Ogórek, and Radosław Rak — were also recognized.
Hackathon as a Space for Development and Experience Sharing
The greatest success of the event was the international collaboration and exchange of experiences. A shared dinner at the Feuerdorf restaurant, despite unfavorable weather, allowed for conversations about daily work, UX design, and the importance of a well-organized project team.
“After the hackathon, I heard the same thing from two different developers who didn’t know each other: that working with good UX is not a luxury, but a necessity. That was very encouraging,” recalls one of the participants.
What Did the Hackathon Show?
The hackathon proved that a well-designed design system significantly accelerates the work of teams. Participants didn’t have to reinvent the wheel; they could focus on the user, experience, and consistency. For the Freya team, it was valuable user testing — observing where the system works great and where improvements are needed.
Some participants took part in the hackathon for the second time and were impressed by GDS’s progress. Instead of criticism — praise, although the Freya Team is aware this is only the beginning.
Now they face project analysis, review of tokens, components, and patterns, and planning for the next edition.
From a UX Designer’s Perspective
I was worried that the Design System would limit the solutions I could propose, but it turned out to be quite the opposite. The Design System allowed me to prepare basic views faster, which let me focus on solving key problems. Compared to last year, the Design System has developed significantly. More and more applications use it daily, and the components themselves have been redesigned, taking into account the feedback received last year. The components have become less rigid and more flexible to use — it’s easier to combine and modify them when the design requires it.
Entering the GDS hackathon, we had one goal — to test the limits of the Design System by doing as much as possible, as quickly and as thoroughly as we could. From the very beginning, we knew it wasn’t just about the ‘wow’ factor, but about real value — so besides building interfaces, we immediately focused on actively gathering feedback. GDS definitely speeds up the work — components are implemented quickly, and the flexibility it offers developers in many aspects surprised me. Practically the entire project was based on GDS components without custom solutions — importantly, not only did we manage to use the components, but we also genuinely tested them in various configurations. We encountered a few minor issues, which we recorded immediately. What’s crucial — the GDS team responded immediately. During the event, we started conversations, and after the hackathon, we scheduled meetings to discuss several points of our feedback in more detail. I know that some of our suggestions have already been taken into account. Special mention goes to the event organization — from logistics to post-event integration. Great space, full support, zero chaos. Thanks to that, we could focus 100% on creation. That’s exactly what a good hackathon is about.
From a Frontend Developer’s Perspective
I once worked as a frontend developer in a team with a dedicated UI designer. It was a very comfortable situation — much like during the hackathon, where collaboration with the design team was smooth and without unnecessary delays. Needs were addressed on the spot, which helped avoid blockers and maintain workflow continuity. I appreciate the work of designers — before mock-ups are created, they have to conduct research, understand the user, consider trends, accessibility, and system compliance. This requires not only creativity but also great attention to detail. I feel that this stage can often be more time-consuming than coding the finished design — and it deserves full recognition.
What’s next?
The GDS Freya team isn’t stopping — ahead of them lie project analysis, a review of the components used, and preparing a roadmap for the system’s further development. The feedback from the hackathon will be crucial for them.
For us — as Raiffeisen Tech — participating in this event was another proof of how important a community of skills is and the opportunity to learn from each other. We are proud of our representatives and look forward to the next edition!
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Radosław Rak
Senior UX/UI Designer
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Piotr Ogórek
Senior Frontend Developer
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Dominik Seroczyński
UX Designer
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Konrad Nowacki
Senior IT Delivery Manager in Compliance Cockpit
