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Award Winning Westpac's iPad App Redesign

Challenge

Westpac faced the challenge of adapting to the rapidly evolving digital banking landscape.

Westpac Group’s ambition was to elevate the mobile banking experience beyond mere transactions. The digital banking landscape  presented an opportunity to innovate and disrupt. The iPad banking application needed a transformation, not just in functionality but in user experience, making banking more engaging and intuitive for customers.

App Prototyping Tests

Approach

Reimagining Digital Banking for a Seamless User Experience

As the Product and CX Lead at Westpac, I drove a redefinition of digital banking, leading to a patent-pending iPad app feature comprising of a unique, intuitive gestural design. Using a human-centered design (HCD) approach, honed through extensive user testing and customer feedback, my team was set to shift the traditional banking experience. 

As the design lead, I used an HCD approach by:

  • Prioritising usability testing from initial wireframes to iterative design refinements, ensuring user feedback was central to the development process.
  • Guiding a dynamic team of designers and developers to integrate customer-centric design principles into the banking app.
  • Leading ongoing enhancements post-launch to maintain high user satisfaction and adapt to emerging banking trends.

Spatial Model of the App

Interaction Explainer - Used as Case Study

Outcomes

A Leap in Mobile Banking

My efforts culminated in:

  • Recognition with the prestigious Good Design Award, marking the project’s innovation and impact
  • Notable increase in Net Promoter Score (NPS), jumping from -8 to 34, reflecting improved customer experience.
  • Boost in app store ratings from 2.5 to 4.5 stars, demonstrating user approval and app quality.
  • Substantial increase in weekly product sales (542%) and daily additional revenue (AU$22K) from new app features like pre-approved credit cards

    Good Design Award Winning Entry

    Good Design Award Winning Entry

    Good Design Award Winning Entry

    How a Mistake Led to a Winning UX Design

    While exploring a new mobile prototyping tool, I stumbled upon a fascinating solution to a user concern during the drag-and-drop money transfer experience. Watching and listening to participants, I noticed widespread uncertainty about what moving the entire account tile symbolized. Many worried about merging accounts or losing control.

    This sparked an idea: instead of dragging the entire tile, why not highlight only a component, like a coin, representing a piece of the transferred amount? This subtle shift would clarify purpose of the drag and drop transfer feature.

    However, a serendipitous "mistake" in the prototyping tool led to an even better outcome. As I accidentally connected the coin to the tile, it created a gentle tilt animation of the tile, further emphasizing the direction of the coin's movement. This small animation provided a crucial visual cue for users, effectively addressing their earlier anxieties.

    From a simple error, a powerful solution emerged. This subtle animation became a core element of the final design, ultimately contributing to the award-winning user experience of the Westpac tablet app.

    Early Prototyping Work that gave rise to this "mistake"