fundify
AI Mortgage Loan Document Analysis
Fundify envisions a future where home mortgages are easy, fast, efficient, and stress-free. By leveraging intelligent AI automation, Fundify aims to transform the mortgage experience into a seamless, transparent journey that empowers all mortgage lenders and mortagage seekers involved.
Timeline
From explorations to launch in 9 weeks.
Outcome
As part of a SkillHat program, I worked with a team to build a mortgage loan verfication website from scratch.
Role
I was the only product designer owning the following:
Early-stage discovery and user research
Design sprints
User flows
Low, mid, and high fidelity explorations
Design System & Branding
WCAG Accessibility
Prototypes
Engineering Handoff
Team
Product Manager
Project Manager
Business Analyst
Back-end Developer
Front-end Developer
As a starting point, I conducted discovery research to learn what specific challenges shoppers struggled with when shopping for clothing that fits. I began my research by combing through dozens of reviews for popular clothing brands on trustpilot.com. I found this method helpful for finding honest and unfiltered feedback from shoppers.
I noticed several themes after reviewing shoppers reviews and conducting white paper research online that places increased burdens on both shoppers and retailers.
Confusing size charts and increased burdens on shoppers
Fit and size continue to be the primary reason for online returns, accounting for 42% of returns. There are no universal size charts used by clothing brands which makes it difficult to shop online. In consequence, some shoppers hesitate to shop from new brands or decide to risk ordering the wrong size.
Bracketing
Some shoppers resort to 'bracketing' which refers to buying multiple sizes of one item at one time. This places a burden on both shoppers to return items that don't fit which can drive traffic away from retailers who don't offer free shipping and returns. Retailers also bear the burden for shipping, inspection, and repair costs.
Lack of diversity and inclusion for different body types
Many shoppers find that many existing size charts do not accommodate for the full range of body types. 67% of American women wear a size 14 or above, and most retailers don't carry these sizes.
I collaborated with two of my design colleagues to map out all the user problems and potential blockers identified during our discovery research. Together, we used the these painpoints to guide our how might we questions to reframe these challenges into opportunity areas.
I brainstormed solutions in the group session and afterwards conducted lightning demos to draw more solutions and visual inspiration from a range of web products.
I developed user flows to determine which features and screens needed to be designed for implementation.
I participated in a design sprint by brainstorming low-fidelity design solutions for Fitsearch. While the lead designer was responsible for the design system and high-fidelity designs, she reviewed my initial concepts, provided feedback, and considered my explorations into the vision for Fitsearch. She encouraged us to explore pie in the sky designs even though we were working towards launching a beta version first. The lead designer asked me to brainstorm for the following flows:
Avatar scan flow
Fit survey flow
Search & browsing flow
Fit survey & scanning an avatar flow
Since shoppers frequently browse on their phones, I started by exploring design solutions from a mobile-first breakpoint. The essential features for the landing page included:
Option to fill out a fit survey
Option to scan an avatar
A way to run a search
Fit survey & scanning an avatar: Recommended design
I considered integrating a dropdown menu into the search bar. Since shoppers are already familiar with search bars and tend to gravitate toward them, adding a dropdown component could encourage them to associate searching with adding an avatar. The advantage of this design is that it saves space on the landing page, leaving more room for instructions on how to use Fitsearch.
Given that this may be the first time someone encounters the term "avatar," I chose to visually convey the concept using an avatar icon. To enhance clarity, the avatar icon is paired with a clock icon during the "in progress" state and a checkmark once the avatar has successfully uploaded to Fitsearch.
Fit survey & scanning an avatar: alternative exploration 1
I considered using a popup solution because it saves space on the landing page. However, the downside is that popups can be a disruptive design choice.
Fit survey & scanning an avatar: alternative exploration 2
I considered an option where the scan avatar and fit survey features would be displayed directly on the landing page. The advantage of this approach is that both components are immediately visible to shoppers. However, this design quickly clutters the landing page and pushes important educational content below the fold, reducing its visibility to users.
Searching & browsing
The must haves for the search and browsing flow included:
Option to alter the search
Image of garment (pulled from the retailer selling the garment)
Fit score - the CEO and CTO indicated that Fitsearch would recommend items with a 98% Fit score
Price of garment
Name of retailer
Searching and browsing: recommended design
The exploration I presented to my design team included all the must have features for beta. With shopping online, I thought it would be important to offer a sort option since shoppers often like to sort by price.
searching and browsing: pie in the sky exploration
Since we were in the early stages of designing, the lead designer on the team encouraged me and a design colleague to explore pie in the sky designs. While I did not recommend this for beta, I shared an exploration that showed a preview of the fit score to the users.
I liked that on some retailer sites, I was able to preview some product details for a garment without leaving the browsing page. I explored a version where a module could give the shopper a preview of their fit evaluation. From my research, many retailers include a like or bookmark feature so that shoppers can save items that they like.
Being part of this amazing project was an incredible experience. I learned so much from contributing to the development of an end-to-end product. One of the key takeaways was recognizing how valuable and essential it is to engage with users throughout the design process. My skills in conducting interviews and usability testing improved significantly as a result.
After implementing updates based on multiple rounds of usability testing, the product was officially launched to the public by removing the password-protected homepage. Since going live, the project has secured 33 affiliate contracts, which has been exciting and rewarding to witness. Although there is still much work to be done, Fitsearch's next steps are to expand into additional clothing categories and strive for a better product-market fit.