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From August 2022 to August 2023, as a Product Design Lead at Nash, I led the design initiative to seamlessly merge cryptocurrency with traditional banking in a single app designed for our European audience.
Upon my arrival, the scene was a blend of order and disarray. The team had just overhauled the app, proudly considering its design as an industry benchmark. I came on board thanks to endorsements from former employees skilled in UX. Winning the team's trust called for steady patience and determination.
My methodology was straightforward: start by understanding the competition to carve out our niche. I audited our current user flows, pinpointing areas of concern. A transparent dialogue with the team provided valuable feedback that shaped our refined flows. This was followed by a rigorous cycle of prototyping, testing, and iterating.
However, our journey wasn't without roadblocks. Our partner bank's inconsistent responsiveness threw a spanner in the works. During this downtime, I channeled my energies towards enhancing minor UX aspects. Engaging with our user community, I unearthed common pain points. One glaring concern was the lack of transparency about fund movement. This user feedback became the catalyst for the development of a robust status notification feature. But fate had other plans; our banking partner ran into regulatory issues. Nash swiftly took action, ending our association and initiating the search for a reliable replacement.
While scouting for a new banking partner, I collaborated with the backend team to polish the notifications feature, ensuring users felt informed and confident about their transactions. Concurrently, the app's existing structure wasn't equipped to accommodate this new notification system. Our momentum was again tested when a core member of our front-end team departed. This led us to prioritise immediate, smaller tweaks. Amidst these adaptations, we secured a new banking partner.
This new partnership re-energized our team. Adapting to this change, we prepared for a phased IBAN development, aligning our designs with the new bank's specifications. As this was unfolding, I delved into another project, the NFR buy-sell Widget, a promising venture identified by our business team (more on this in another case study).
After laying the groundwork for the NFR buy-sell Widget, I shifted my focus back to enhancing the IBAN features, emphasising user-centric elements such as virtual cards, effortless crypto payments, and more. The highly anticipated IBAN feature is nearing the completion, with a comprehensive marketing strategy set to roll out.
Our design transformation transcended mere aesthetics—it fortified team cohesion, enhanced efficiency, and minimised operational hiccups. The Nash app now offers refined user flows, consistently adapting to the dynamic rhythms of the market and the fluid landscape of compliance. Seamlessly, it integrates both Crypto and Traditional Banking within one cohesive application.
It's always a challenge to convince a team of a new approach, especially when they are already proud of their existing work.
With a diverse team and multiple stakeholders, communication sometimes became a challenge, particularly in conveying design rationale and receiving actionable feedback.
The sudden need to switch banking partners was unexpected, but it underscores the importance of flexibility in design and strategy.
Working with teammates from India and Brazil, while being in a different time zone, can disrupt the flow of communication and delay feedback loops.
Even if a project is already in progress, taking a moment to pause, evaluate, conduct research, and strategize can be invaluable. This proactive stance often leads to time and resource savings.
Agility is essential in UX and beyond. Always be ready to adapt your strategies, especially when unexpected challenges arise.Building Trust through Quick Wins Before making extensive design alterations, achieving smaller design successes can be key in building team trust.
Aligning communication with the team's expertise can greatly enhance collaboration. Regular updates, organised documentation, and consistent alignment, complemented by workshops, can address and prevent many challenges.
Engaging directly with community members can provide rich, actionable feedback. It's essential to listen closely and separate truly impactful insights from the noise.
