Redesign the GreenPortfolio site to better support the growing audience of mobile users.
A thoroughly tested site designed with mobile users in mind. Optimized for readability, ease of access to information, and setup for future growth.
Improved user experience, optimized information architecture and improved layout based on insights gathered during user testing.
“Mel was able to translate our requests into an optimized user experience. She utilized a mobile-first approach and provided a high-fidelity prototype with recommended updates based on research and user testing.”
GreenPortfolio is providing users with a platform to review financial products with a focus on climate-friendly products that meet the following criteria:
They identified the majority of users accessing the site from their mobile devices and recognized that the site had not been optimized for that type of interaction. In order to encourage users to not only visit the site, but regularly return to the site, and share it socially, they reached out to get assistance with the effort.
To address their concerns I would approach this project with a mobile-first approach and provide them with a high-fidelity prototype with recommended updates based on research and user testing.
Market research was conducted and provided by the NYU Stern Consulting Project.
Here are a few key take-aways from their research:
While the goal was clear, GreenPortfolio wasn't sure where change needed to happen. They had data, but what was needed was user feedback.
The importance of this effort came to light as GreenPortfolio, in an active stage of growth, prepared to represent their user base to possible investors. They needed to show that the enthusiasm users felt for green investing was being captured by the site.
Research sought to discover insights and trends related to investment information resources and tools.
“Among all the activities that the respondents think would reduce carbon footprint, Renewable Energy Investment was seen as the most impactful.”
Source: NYU Stern Consulting Project for GreenPortfolio
My competitive analysis identified the leading competitors. First, direct competitor, nerdwallet, and indirect competitor, the balance. I focused on mobile sites that offered financial product and service reviews.
I started with user testing conducted on the current GreenPortfolio site, and had users access the mobile version to gather insights on any pain points they were currently experiencing, as well as gather insight into their initial instincts with interacting with the site.
I used these insights to corroborate the details provided by the NYU Stern Consulting Project and created a list of action items for the first prototype.
To further synthesize the insights and observations from the user testing, I created an affinity map by taking the documented observations from the user testing and categorizing them to identify needs.
I was able to identify several areas of focus that would guide me moving forward, they focused on credibility, information about the broader impact, general education about green energy, and finding in-depth information about available financial products and services quickly and easily.
Through user testing and synthesizing insights, we identified a clear need to address the information architecture of the site and pay special attention to the language.
Green Portfolio had already established user personas that we wanted to keep in mind as we designed and developed solutions.
As I kicked off user testing on the current GreenPortfolio site, I wanted to ensure that I would gather insights that could be converted into effective changes. I set out with a few key objectives in mind:
At this point I also wanted to address concerns about the usability heuristics and completed an evaluation. I identified that future updates to the site should focus on three key areas:
I started with mid-fidelity wireframes based on the existing layout of the site to ensure that core functionality would be retained and that design recommendations would not expand beyond the capability of the page builder being used. I then began making updates based on user testing insights and including all elements for the next round of user testing. I referenced the list of identified pages to design, and focused on elements necessary for testing of the prototype.
I took my mid-fidelity wireframes and wired them for testing. The decisions was made to test with this version of the prototype to allow interaction early on, before design decisions were made and would allow for quick edits.
I conducted unmoderated remote user testing using Useberry. The testing allowed me to collect observations related to the usability of the GreenPortfolio prototype. Each session was recorded so I was able to review the results and compile them into categories using an affinity map. Those categories were then turned into insights and recommendations.
Part of this project included incorporating the new GreenPortfolio logo. I was supplied with the logo, fonts, and primary and accent colors which I would incorporate into the full UI Kit.
For my final prototype, I implemented the following changes that were identified during testing:
As a result of the updates users were able to instinctively find information, which resulted in improved enthusiasm around the product as a whole.
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