Basically like the Dota 2 system. It's not for ranking, it doesn't measure skill. It would be a progression system, co-existing with the ladder system, which rewards cosmetic things. Examples could include portraits, decals, unit models, lobby backgrounds, etc.
Since SC2 is a competitive game, it needs to maximize readability. Units should be standardized, not customized. So if there's any system that rewards unit models, there needs to be a option to only see standard models on your screen, regardless of what model other players are using.
The level should only ever go up, you should still gain experience for losing games. Experience should be rewarded for rank, unranked and even custom games, and be based off time played (so it can't be cheated with 1 second games). The idea is to encourage casuals to play, through a progression system like WoW.