A Bank Portal Everyone Understands
From Complexity to Clarity
For BNG Bank's Customer Portal, I translated customer research into three design principles — relevance, simplicity, clarity — and a task-focused, WCAG-accessible experience. Small team, sharp choices, big impact on how customers experience their bank.
Through customer research, we discovered that users wanted more control and insight, which led to three design principles: relevance, simplicity, and clarity. We simplified the information structure by eliminating unnecessary content and complexity, resulting in a task-focused, clear user experience.
Additionally, the newly developed design system provided structure and consistency, allowing for quick implementation of improvements.
Putting users first
From the start, we conducted in-depth customer research to understand pain points and needs. Our findings were clear—users wanted more control and efficiency when managing their banking services. This human-first approach led us to define three core design principles: relevance, simplicity, and clarity. We drastically reduced content clutter, removed unnecessary jargon, and restructured complex workflows. This shift in focus resulted in a streamlined user experience where only the most essential information was displayed, empowering users to take charge.
Empowering administrators
One major improvement was addressing the needs of customer administrators—employees responsible for managing user rights within the client portal. Previously, they were overly reliant on BNG Bank for many administrative tasks. By shifting control to these administrators, they could now manage teams, roles, and responsibilities independently. This change not only lightened their workload but also laid the foundation for a portal that provided clear insights into purchased products, loans, and user authorizations.
Crafting a Task-Driven Experience
To ensure a calm and focused user experience, we maintained a limited color palette and clear navigation cues. Every interaction was thoughtfully designed to help users know exactly where they were and what their next step should be. With accessible language, clean typography, and compliance with WCAG standards, we created a portal that felt intuitive and inclusive. The design system we developed became a valuable tool for continuous improvement, making future iterations faster and more efficient.
Personal reflection
This experience underscored for me the importance of designing with empathy. Every feature we implemented needed to align with the real needs of the users, creating a system where financial management became more accessible, clear, and empowering. For me, this project was a powerful demonstration of how thoughtful design can truly make a social impact by simplifying complex systems and making them more intuitive for everyone. The sense of satisfaction in seeing users empowered, combined with the efficiency gains for the bank, confirmed how design has the potential to not only improve technology but also make a real difference in people’s lives.
