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Golden Coast Finance

RESPONSIVE FINANCE WEBSITE

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User Research and Data Analytics

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User Interface Design and Branding

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Interaction Design & Animation

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Content Writing and Strategy

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OVERVIEW

Pixie pixels make everything more enchanting - even finance websites. Golden Coast Finance is a mortgage-lending company based in Los Angeles, California, whose website was in desperate need of a makeover. I transformed their digital presence from three pages of 20th-century terror into an elegant and immersive 50-page (and growing) experience befitting of their bright and authoritative brand and principles.

GOALS

  • Create a design system in Figma with ease of development and future designers in mind.

  • ​Design intuitive user flows and delightful interactions that conjure feelings of confidence and peace-of-mind for loan-seeking users.

  • Increase conversion rates by improving the application and pre-qualification processes.

  • Design resources that increase community engagement and help users boost their “financial fitness.”

RESEARCH

  • I conducted thorough research to identify user demographics, noting that 70% were mobile users.

  • I found that the majority of users were women and men aged 35-55, guiding the focus on their specific needs and preferences.

  • I researched industry leaders and direct competitors to identify key features and flows.

  • My research contributed to a library of resources that I designed to increase community engagement and help users boost their financial fluency.

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DESIGN PROCESS

  • The wireframing process went smoothly and efficiently, thanks to my new design system.
     

  • I created modern, streamlined application and pre-qualification flows to reduce user friction and address user feedback issues and conflicts.
     

  • I designed calculators, a blog, and an interactive “Ask an Expert” page, amongst a large list of resources, in order to help the Golden Coast Finance team establish themselves as industry experts.​
     

  • I pursued consistent collaboration with marketing, copywriting, and design teams to solicit feedback and ensure that visual choices were on-brand and in line with the CEO’s vision.
     

  • I validated all design decisions with robust user testing, and presented findings to stakeholders.

OUTCOME & KEY TAKEAWAYS

User engagement increased by 400%, while bounce rate dramatically dropped from 80% to 40%, thanks to the new website’s impeccable navigation, engaging and impactful content strategy, and fun and friendly user interactions, amongst the long list of ways that pixie pixels completely transformed the Golden Coast Finance experience.

The key takeaway from this project was the ever-increasing importance of elevating and refining product design to a level that continually inspires trust and confidence in the user. In an era of A.I. advancements and security concerns, a flawless user experience and pixel-perfect user interface is a necessary foundation for establishing lasting relationships with one’s targeted audience.

Learn more about my thoughts on A.I. here.​

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CHALLENGES

  • There was a significant language barrier between myself and the company’s offshore development team.
     

  • ​Long-standing employees were attached to outdated design and marketing habits that interfered with the user experience.
     

  • The timeline was significantly shortened in the middle of the design process.

SOLUTIONS

  • I patiently collaborated with the dev team by providing extensive, image-heavy feedback in Figma and ensuring that all mistakes that affected the user experience were corrected before product launch.
     

  • ​I found ways to connect my values to those of the other departments in order to find compromises that benefited both the company and the user experience. (For example, I guided the marketing team away from pasting a wall of SEO-targeted copy at the top of the landing page. I helped them understand the value of a simple and clean user interface, while finding creative ways to ensure search engine optimization.)
     

  • After learning of our shortened time line, I took a deep breath and adjusted my approach to ensure that I could complete my designs on time. I collaborated with the writing, design, and marketing departments to quickly finalize my files by the deadline without compromising quality.

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