NPBS
Achieving Intuitive User Experience Through Collaboration and Innovation
The NPBS App is a native mobile application that provides banking services to customers of Newcastle Permanent, a financial institution in Australia.
Overview
I joined Newcastle Permanent Building Society as a contracted UI Design specialist via ARQ Group. During my tenure, which spanned ten months and was conducted entirely remotely, my primary responsibility was to revamp the user interface of NPBS's native mobile banking application.
In my role as the Lead UI Designer for the project, I navigated through various challenges, guiding the team towards creating an intuitive and seamless user experience. My responsibilities necessitated active collaboration with a multi-disciplinary team, including Product Managers, Business Analysts, UX Designers, and Developers.
Challenges and Approach
Brand Refresh Implementation
One of the significant tasks I undertook was executing a brand refresh while preserving the existing design elements of the app. The challenge lay in maintaining a harmonious balance between improving the overall aesthetics of the app and retaining its unique identity.
Optimising UI for Accessibility
As a part of the brand refresh, I worked on optimizing UI elements, font choices, and colour palettes to enhance readability and accessibility, adhering to the WCAG guidelines. The primary goal was to ensure a comfortable and hassle-free user experience.
Consistent Design System Implementation
An inconsistency issue in the app design surfaced as a major UX hurdle. Developers were grappling with maintaining a consistent aesthetic across the app components, causing user confusion and necessitating multiple design reviews and adjustments.
To counter this issue and elevate the user experience, I led the implementation of the design system. This system acted as a unified reference point, aiding developers in keeping a standardised approach while developing app components. This initiative also amplified the development team's productivity by minimising time spent on design amendments.
Migrating from Sketch to Figma
I spearheaded the challenging transition from Sketch to Figma. This migration involved building a fresh design system with Auto Layout features to promote team collaboration and simplify the design process, demanding meticulous planning, coordination, and precision.
Creation of High-Fidelity Prototypes
Utilising my proficiency in Figma, I crafted numerous prototypes to evaluate the usability and efficacy of various design strategies. These prototypes guided us towards the most user-oriented design solutions, contributing to enhancing the app's overall performance.
Outcome
The NPBS App experienced significant growth in usage, user ratings and reviews (4.7 app rating), leading to its recognition with two prestigious awards: the Brisbane 2022 Driven x Design Award and the Better Future National Gold Award.
