Skyhook is a lightweight, tech-agnostic CSS framework built on Planview's design system. Created during a hackathon, it set out to solve a real problem: designers and engineers across the org were building the same components over and over, in different ways, with no shared foundation to build from.
I came up with the concept of building a CSS framework grounded in Planview's existing design system — one that any team could adopt regardless of their tech stack. I owned the entire initiative: identifying the right preprocessor, running a competitive assessment of leading CSS frameworks alongside collaborator Ramana Kumar, and taking the project from concept to working prototype.
The goal wasn't just to ship components. It was to give designers and engineers a shared language, reduce duplicated effort, and raise the quality bar for UI consistency across the portfolio.
We started with a structured competitive review of the top CSS frameworks to understand what was worth borrowing and what to avoid. From there, I chose to architect Skyhook using Brad Frost's atomic design principles — protons and utilities building up to atoms, molecules, organisms, and templates — giving the system a clear, scalable hierarchy from the smallest utility class to full page layouts.
Sass was the clear choice for the preprocessor: maintainable, well-supported, and familiar to the engineering teams who would eventually own the codebase.
"Creating a CSS framework in five days is nearly impossible. But because the design foundation was already in place, we could focus on building — not deciding."
— Presented to VP of Product, Directors & Development TeamSkyhook works with any framework — or none at all. By using atomic design principles, it stays completely decoupled from any specific tech stack, making adoption low-friction for any team in the org.
Every component adheres to WCAG 2.1 standards — compatible with touch screens, keyboard navigation, and screen readers. Accessibility was a foundation requirement, not a post-launch checklist item.
At just 5.8 KB total, Skyhook was designed to have minimal network footprint and fast time-to-interactive — important for enterprise tools where performance directly affects productivity.
Every component was built to work within the existing design framework — modals, navbars, panels, grids, avatars, badges, form elements. Consistent by default, extensible by design.
I led and owned the initiative end-to-end in collaboration with Ramana Kumar. I was responsible for the core framework architecture, Sass structure, component development, and cross-browser testing. We ran brainstorming sessions, grooming, and planning together — and presented the final result to senior leadership as a proof of concept for a more unified frontend approach across Planview's product suite.