U.S. Bank — Information Architecture for Financial Goal Tools
Designing structure and clarity for one of America's largest financial institutions
Project Overview
As part of the U.S. Bank Goals Team, I was responsible for improving the structure, flow, and clarity of several digital banking experiences that helped customers set financial goals, track progress, and access the right tools for their financial well-being.
This work required balancing highly regulated financial content, the needs of multiple user segments (Affluent, Mass Market, Gen Z, Boomers), and complex product offerings across U.S. Bank's digital ecosystem.
The challenge was not simply UI — it was understanding how users think, how they navigate financial tasks, and how to structure information to reduce confusion and support decision-making.
My Contribution
What I Owned
- • Cross-segment customer journey mapping
- • Information architecture flows for new features
- • Competitive analysis to benchmark against top financial apps
- • Low–mid fidelity prototyping in Sketch, InVision, and Figma
- • Collaboration with product managers, researchers, and engineering
What I Delivered
- ✓ Clean IA flows that clarified tool relationships
- ✓ Simplified navigation hierarchy across multi-step tasks
- ✓ New labeling system to reduce confusion
- ✓ Prototypes exploring new pathways and interactions
- ✓ Collaborated with engineering on feasibility
Design Approach
User Segmentation & Journey Mapping
Created five detailed journey maps across Affluent Millennials, Mass Market Millennials, Gen Z, and Baby Boomers to identify navigation friction and terminology confusion.
Competitive Analysis
Evaluated Ally Bank and competitor apps to understand how they structure financial tools and communicate savings goals.
Simplified Information Architecture
Redesigned IA to ensure users could quickly understand available tools, start savings goals, track progress, and find features aligned with their financial life.
Multi-Audience Structure
IA accounted for varying financial literacy levels, device behaviors, and motivation triggers across diverse user segments.
Design Samples
User Segmentation Research
Analyzed multiple user segments (Young Mass, Midlife Mass, Gen Z, Boomers) to identify financial goals, behaviors, and navigation pain points across different demographics
Personalized Emergency Fund Experience
Shipped mobile experience providing personalized emergency fund guidance. Through competitive analysis, we identified that competitors only offered generic guidance or worksheets - our solution used user data to provide actionable, personalized recommendations.
Reflection
"This project strengthened my ability to simplify complex systems and design IA that helps diverse users confidently navigate financial tools."
What This Showcases About Me
- •Expertise in organizing complex information environments
- •Working in regulated industries with multiple constraints
- •Strong collaboration across product, engineering, and research
- •Ability to turn research + competitive insights into structured UX decisions
- •Breadth across mapping, IA, prototyping, and strategy