Industrial & Manufacturing

Built to last four decades

How we helped Wärtsilä create a design system for software that needs to work until 2065

Brand & Experience Design,

NoA Ignite — The digital consultancy that delivers

Challenge
Wärtsilä needed a design system that could unify bridge software across decades — not years. Systems from the 80s are still in use. Trends wouldn't cut it. The solution had to be timeless.
Solution
We built the Anchor Design System component library from the ground up: hand-crafted, tested in total darkness, and designed to adapt for the next 40 years.
Impact
Development sped up. Design became consistent. Bridge officers got software that works, today and for decades to come. Internal adoption hit 100%.

Hand-crafted, tested in darkness

We became an extension of Wärtsilä's rapid innovation team. For nearly two years, we built the Anchor Design System component library piece by piece.

Each component was crafted through multiple cycles. Design. Build. Ship to bridge officers. Test. Iterate. Repeat.

This tight feedback loop made sure the system actually worked for the people using it, not just in theory, but in practice.

"We thought dark mode was simple," remembers Dobrek Kropielnicki, Senior Developer at NoA Ignite. "Then we tested it in total darkness on an actual bridge. Back to the drawing board."

Every component had to nail the maritime context while staying generic enough for broader use. Timeless, not trendy. Functional, not flashy.

Once the library was ready, we built the support system around it: documentation, debugging protocols, onboarding for new users. Everything needed to make the design system a living, breathing toolkit for Wärtsilä's teams.

Faster builds, unified design, 100% adoption

The Anchor Design System transformed how Wärtsilä builds digital products.

Development accelerated. Design became consistent across the board. And bridge officers got software that adapts to their needs, both now and for decades ahead.

Internal teams adopted it immediately. When they have a choice of what to use for web-based human-to-machine interfaces, the conversion rate is practically 100%.

"The proof is in the pudding," says Markus Mannevaara, Senior Director of Rapid Innovation at Wärtsilä. "Teams choose Anchor every time."

Wärtsilä's developers love working with the components. They're plug-and-play for common cases, and easy to extend when something specific comes up.

The collaboration didn't stop after phase one. We're still building new Wärtsilä products using the design system, and continuing to evolve it together.

"We've been so happy with the team that we extended the partnership," Markus adds. "They take ownership, stay proactive, and make collaboration smooth."