1. Overview

As a UX leader at fintech startup SoFi, I partnered with product and marketing teams to design and launch several responsive web (rWeb) and mobile app experiences. Key projects included fractional shares investing (“Stock Bits”), a homepage redesign, and the introduction of an insurance section. My focus was on ensuring a cohesive, engaging, and intuitive user experience while developing scalable design systems and templates.

2. Problem Statement

As SoFi rapidly expands its digital offerings, it needs a unified design system to streamline production and maintain consistent user experiences so customers can seamlessly engage across web and mobile platforms.

3. Users and Audience

• Primary Users:
  
  • Product, marketing, and app development teams requiring tools and systems to scale features and campaigns efficiently.
  • External agency partners managing social media campaigns.
• End Users:
  
  • SoFi’s diverse audience, including investors, borrowers, and insurance seekers, engaging with products and services across web and mobile platforms.

4. Roles and Responsibilities

As the UX and Creative Design Leader, I:

• Directed UX and creative design efforts across web and mobile platforms, ensuring consistent branding and engaging user experiences.
• Designed responsive web (rWeb) pages for key product features, including fractional shares and insurance.
• Redesigned SoFi’s Sketch library and developed responsive templates to streamline design processes and ensure scalability.
• Acted as the agency liaison, providing creative oversight and approvals for social media campaigns.
• Partnered with the app development team to maintain consistency across digital experiences.

5. Scope and Constraints

• Scope:
  
  • Designing and launching new features such as fractional shares (“Stock Bits”) and the insurance section.
  • Redesigning the homepage to improve user engagement and product discoverability.
  • Creating a new design system to unify branding and enable responsive, scalable designs.
• Constraints:
  
  • Tight timelines for launching new features to align with business goals.
  • Ensuring new designs integrated seamlessly with existing platforms and workflows.

6. Process and What We Did

• Discovery and Research:
  
  • Collaborated with product and marketing teams to identify user needs and business objectives for new features.
  • Conducted usability testing and competitive analysis to inform design decisions.
• Design System Overhaul:
  
  • Redesigned the Sketch library to include reusable components and responsive templates, reducing production time by 40-55%.
  • Ensured scalability and consistency across web and mobile platforms.
• Responsive Web Design:
  
  • Designed engaging rWeb pages for fractional shares, the insurance section, and the homepage, optimizing for accessibility and user experience.
• Creative Collaboration:
  
  • Provided creative direction for agency partners managing social media campaigns to ensure cohesive branding.
  • Worked with the app development team to align web and mobile design efforts.

7. Outcomes and Lessons

Key achievements included:

• Improved Efficiency: Reduced design production time by 40-55% through the redesigned Sketch library and responsive templates.
• Enhanced User Engagement: Successfully launched fractional shares (“Stock Bits”) and the insurance section, increasing user interaction with these features.
• Unified Experience: Created a cohesive and consistent UX across web and mobile platforms, improving customer satisfaction.
• Stronger Brand Presence: Provided creative direction for social media campaigns, ensuring consistency across digital touchpoints.

Key Lesson:

Establishing a robust design system not only improves efficiency but also creates a unified experience across diverse digital platforms, supporting long-term scalability.

8. Conclusion

The SoFi Digital Experience Redesign delivered impactful results by aligning UX and creative efforts with business goals. Through innovative design, strategic collaboration, and a focus on scalability, this project enhanced SoFi’s digital ecosystem, ensuring engaging and consistent experiences for users across web and mobile platforms. This case study illustrates the critical role of UX leadership in driving both business and user success.