Redesigning the aesthetic and information architecture of a marketing website for a financial literacy program

Brief

Redesign the InvestWrite® marketing website to increase program engagement in its primary audiences, and bring brand cohesion to the family of SIFMA programs

Client

InvestWrite® is part of a family of financial education programs of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets (SIFMA) Foundation that strengthens economic opportunity across communities and increases individuals’ awareness of and access to the benefits of the global marketplace.

Audience

4th-12th grade teachers and parents who live in the USA, and financial professionals who volunteer with the program or are interested to

Timeframe

3 months

Role

1 of 2 UX Designers

Skills

  • Wireframes

  • User Interface Design

  • Information Architecture

Deliverables

Website Redesign

  • Added colors and elements of the program logo into website design system

  • Introduced font families to enhance brand personality

  • Create content components to be reused across this site and its family of programs

Wireframes

  • Consolidated or cut repetitive content

  • Ensured all important information could be easily found or navigated to

  • Collaborated with software architects to ensure marketing website and program website worked seamlessly together

Process

Site Analysis

We sought to understand what content existed and how its organized. We then reorganized the content to produce a future site map with the site’s primary audiences in mind. Our goal was to quickly redirect return visitors to their desired destinations, while selling the program to new visitors.

Moodboards

Since InvestWrite is one in a family of programs, we wanted to ensure that it had an individual identity while looking related to the whole. So we looked to non-profit education sites and gaming sites for cues on content organization and visual inspiration

Wireframes

With the site map and content in hand, we created wireframes of the entire website. This allowed us to map exactly where each piece of content would go.

UI Iterations

After the wireframes were approved, we focused on the user interface (UI). Inspired by the InvestWrite logo, we took elements from it and scattered them throughout the website, making the site more approachable and fun.

Outcomes

Our design is live on their site.

Reflections

The client came to us with the intention to only improve the aesthetic of their marketing site, but upon closer inspection and inquiry, we realized the site’s content needed an overhaul if it was to meet their desired goals. As such, even with tight timelines, we managed to squeeze in a site map refresh and accompanying wireframes. This UX work allowed the UI work to better meet the client’s needs.

With more time, I would have taken a holistic look at all of SIFMA Foundation’s programs and branding, in order to come up with a cohesive aesthetic and a clear storyline of what the foundation is trying to achieve and how.