After the acquisition of a robust design tool, a platform for clients to hire freelance designers, and needing to refresh the legacy brand Vistaprint, a multidisciplinary team set out to envision the future experience of One Vista. We sprinted to define:

• Within our market segments, who are we solving for?

• How would we solve for them (DIY, service, and a hybrid of both) ?

• What could this look and feel like under the single brand, Vista?

• How do we, Vista, begin to make it real?

Research & Activities:

• Rapid synthesis of existing research across the organization

• 1:1 IDIs with new and existing small business owners

• Ongoing concept testing with customers of prototypes

• Led workshops with internal teams to “unpack” the strategy and connect to respective domains

Results:

• Data informed narrative of Sam, a small business owner, growing their business – highlighting critical opportunities for Vista to build a relationship while providing products, design tools, and/or design services.

• Proposed framework for a single Vista platform

• Aligned leadership on the vision and exposed gaps

• For domain teams, provided focus areas to accelerate near-term work on desired customer outcomes

Passwords are a problem. Especially at Wells Fargo - increased complexity rules instated by InfoSec results in usability issues that drive costly calls and complaints. And worse, breached passwords lead to fraud losses.

The industry is responding with FIDO (fast identity online). This authentication protocol could help reduce reliance on passwords for many customers.

Partners came to us (experience design and the technology lab) wondering how and when can we build this? We helped re-frame the initiative:

• What problems would this solve?

• What are the use cases? What is the opportunity size?

• How would this impact the customer experience?

• Would customers adopt it?

Research & Activities:

• Quantitative analysis of current technology and digital behaviors of our customers today

• Early concept testing

• Auth system analysis and user flows

• Evaluative research

Results:

• Customers who use biometrics are likely to adopt other password-free sign on methods– position as secure, simple set-up and use, and reliable.

• To utilize FIDO within the existing UX architecture, the impact would be low - needs a longer-term strategy.

• The business re-prioritized launch and accelerated exploration of other password-free experiences.

Relative to competitors, Wells Fargo continued to rank below average on their mobile sign on experience–a critical journey for millions of customers.

To understand what experiences Wells Fargo should be delivering, an executive asked, “What would a customer-led strategy be for security in 2021 and beyond?”

Partnered with our UX Architect, I designed and co-led a 4 part “provocation” workshop and delivered a set of design solutions intended to illustrate simple and secure mobile sign on– experiences for now, next, and future roadmaps.

Research & Activities:

• Utilized generative research on security mindsets

• Aggregated and synthesized NPS (Net Promoter Score) surveys, customer calls, app store reviews, complaints, and behavioral data

• Conducted UX competitive analysis for benchmarking and best practices

• Created lightweight journey maps to provide designers context, defined use cases, and provided user flows to guide design

• Collaborated with designers to ensure insights matched up with design solutions

Key Findings:

• Challenges as sign on are the largest category of virtual banking product complaints

• Customers are burdened by forced password changes, interdiction at sign on, and ambiguous recovery paths

• Opportunity segment - most active digital users don’t have an advanced understanding of fraud threats–they prefer options for quick sign on methods, trust they are secure, and want to see the bank pro-actively keeping them safe

• Opportunity segment - Digital origin, new-to-bank customers do not have a clear path to sign on for the first time

Results:

• Near-term UI tweaks enabled more customers to self-serve and reduced calls to the contact center (~$1M reduction in operational costs)

• Mobile app front doors are being redesigned - expected to launch Q12022

• The longer-term vision helped accelerate conversations about needed technologies and flexibility to prepare for the future

The Story Jar empowers people to record, compile, and gift their favorite stories about a loved one, to that loved one.

Venturing to create more meaningful online communication between family and friends, we utilized the following research methodologies:

• One-on-one in depth interviews

• Concept cards

• Secondary research

• Usability testing

• Rapid prototyping

We discovered that whether it is around the campfire or dinner table, people recount story after story to feel a sense of community and significance. 

However, people record stories in times of desperation - when a family member or friend is ill or at the end of life.

We challenged ourselves: How can we create a product that captures stories proactively, in times of celebration?

In four months, our app was available for download and our success landed us a position with Mix & Stir, a start up accelerator.

Team members: Rahim Bhimani, Ryan Blad, Alex Pratt, and Jo Tsai

For more, visit thestoryjar.com.

In the fast-paced industry of influencer marketing, CLEVER (formerly Clever Girls) was looking to scale. Qualitative research and a comprehensive brand audit provided the opportunity to re-position, re-brand, and revamp their product offerings, posing CLEVER as THE influencer marketing agency for consumer brands across America.

Research:

• In-depth one-on-one client interviews

• Competitive Analysis

• Series of system mapping and visioning exercises

• Client-facing materials audit

Key Findings: Clients were happy with CLEVER's service, however, viewed the capabilities within the niche of "mommy blogging." As a "boutique" agency, they assumed CLEVER had less ability to scale and limited access to data and insights compared to competitor technology platforms.

The audit informed a comprehensive rebrand of sales and marketing touchpoints and helped guide product, tech, and service innovations helping to establish CLEVER's position as THE influencer marketing agency.  

Research shows that kids need recess for healthy development. However, the paraprofessionals, teachers, and volunteers (a.k.a. playground staff) who are supervising recess, don't always know how to create a healthy one.

Playworks excelled at training educators in person but needed more scalable tools to reach educators across the country.

To better understand how we could support educators with digital tools, we conducted:

• Field research/ site observation 

• On-site interviews with playground staff

Working with Forge54 we developed Playworks Playbook, an iOS and web app that teaches playground staff how to lead the best playground games. 

Once we had the beta available for use, I jumped in to test usability and drafted the manual for creating game tutorials that would help empower playground staff to confidently learn and lead playground games with their students.

To see more of our WIP, visit playworksplaybook.org.

To learn more about Forge54, a volunteer-based creative design firm, visit forge54.org