Turning evidence into standards

How do clients confidently tell the difference between a genuine bank communication and a scam?

Especially when the bank's product and design teams are misaligned and referring to up to 24 different resources to make seemingly arbitary product communication decisions…

The problem


Colleagues were spending up to 35% of their time negotiating copy decisions and aligning terms within siloed enterprise product teams.


The problem


Colleagues were spending up to 35% of their time negotiating copy decisions and aligning terms within siloed enterprise product teams.


Internal support-desk data indicated that approximately 20-30% of inquiries stemmed from unclear or contradictory messaging, alongside a reluctance to transition away from legacy platforms our redesigned enterprise solutions sought to uplift. Advisors were also flagging an increasing number of complaints from clients, who were losing confidence in the safety and authenticity of our digital solutions.

— time that could have gone into the work itself, not arguing about it.

"I don't know how to decide between wording like 'Next' and 'Continue,' or even how to tell whether my content's clear or not." Lead Product Designer

On joining, my primary objective was to develop content standards, strategy, and a governance framework robust enough to actually get used.

Phase 1: Discovery and audit

I reviewed more than 24+ independent internal Confluence spaces that documented content standards, design systems where I identified several instances of product content guidance. I also consulted several design, product and engineering colleagues, gaging a rudimentary understanding of how they determine content-design decisions.

Phase 2. Define principles and success

I led a workshop with fellow content designers to define the core principles that'll ground future content decisions:

Internal support-desk data indicated that approximately 20-30% of inquiries stemmed from unclear or contradictory messaging, alongside a reluctance to transition away from legacy platforms our redesigned enterprise solutions sought to uplift. Advisors were also flagging an increasing number of complaints from clients, who were losing confidence in the safety and authenticity of our digital solutions.

— time that could have gone into the work itself, not arguing about it.

"I don't know how to decide between wording like 'Next' and 'Continue,' or even how to tell whether my content's clear or not." Lead Product Designer

On joining, my primary objective was to develop content standards, strategy, and a governance framework robust enough to actually get used.

Phase 1: Discovery and audit

I reviewed more than 24+ independent internal Confluence spaces that documented content standards, design systems where I identified several instances of product content guidance. I also consulted several design, product and engineering colleagues, gaging a rudimentary understanding of how they determine content-design decisions.

Phase 2. Define principles and success

I led a workshop with fellow content designers to define the core principles that'll ground future content decisions:

...is clear and accessible

Ensuring our users always understand what is happening, what they need to do and what'll happen next, irrespective of their context, ability or familiarity of the product.

...is not used to patch bad UX

Copy shouldn't compensate poorly designed flows, poor hierarchy or patching poor internal process.

...is grounded in evidence

Empowering content design by ensuring decisions aren't easy to refute - as each any and every content decision on data and user insights, not assumptions, opinions or preferences.

...evokes confidence

Increasing the trust of our users by ensuring they feel appropriately informed, capable and supported by the product and business in their decision-making, especially in high-stakes or sensitive moments.

...aligns with business confidence

Ensuring product content consistently reflects the organisation's ethical stance, priorities and responsibilities to its clients and users.

We then established success metrics: reducing support inquiries related to messaging confusion, decreasing time spent on content alignment in sprints, and improving user confidence in platform reliability.

Phase 3: Developing content standards

I designed

Evidence-led content standards that strengthened cohesion across a private bank's enterprise and client-facing product communication.

User pains

  • Clients and enterprise users confused by inconsistent product comms

  • Low confidence in distinguishing genuine communications from phishing attempts

  • No clear content decision-making process

Business pains

  • More than 25% of time lost to meetings negotiating or aligning product comms

  • 24 independent documents, microsites and glossaries, with conflicting guidance

  • No shared decision-making framework, often based on subjective senior judgement

Impact (metrics)

  • Directional reduction in time spent on content alignment during sprints

  • Increasingly visited and referenced tool

  • Embedding in design workflows and linking to design systems and Figma variables

Released

January 2024

Disclaimer

I've structured case studies to remain compliant with IP and confidentiality obligations of my former employers. I've expressed any metrics as percentages or directional improvements. Any internal documents have been recreated and I have not included any names of of stakeholders, figures or other proprietary system details.

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