Mobile Reboot

Of all the major organizational and product changes I led at Bank of the West, the most impactful was a complete reboot of our mobile application.

Partnering with the fantastic team at Propelland to help facilitate design workshops, distill our vision into reality, and lay the foundation for a complete transformation in the mobile space was pure fun. I wish I could show you more, there is a huge pipeline of new work rolling out over the next few years that I’m not allowed to share… yet! Below is a snapshot of all the new features that have already launched.

Homepage Redesign

Before the pandemic threw 2020 a major curveball we began exploring and testing new visual design themes for expanding the brand into a more modern digital space. Our response to COVID-19 cut these explorations short but I’m still in love with our initial public launch of this new voice and visual style .

Annual Leadership Conference

It can be a dangerous endeavor letting me up on stage. I may change your mind about how you work. It was a blast getting up on this stage to share my thoughts on the way forward for our products and how we approach our work at the bank.

1% for the Planet Checking Account

In 2020 we teamed up with 1% for the Planet to launch a new account available only at Bank of the West. 1% of all revenues from these accounts will be donated to environmental non-profits like Protect Our Winters, at no cost to customers.

I'm incredibly proud of all the hard work the design team put into this experience. We spent months painstakingly crafting all the visual and motion design as well as content for the mobile app, landing pages, and debit card. The response has been phenomenal. We've had excellent coverage by Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, Outside Magazine, and dozens more.

The Design Journal

Halfway through the year is an excellent time to pause and reflect. 2020 was a bit different, and we all needed some help to focus on the positive and recognize our greatest strength is adapting to change together. This endeavor began before the pandemic and was intended for internal distribution, but this issue is too good not to share with you so we cleared it with legal and compliance for public view.

Recruiting & Hiring the Team

Building a stellar team from the ground up is no small feat, and while I love having great recruiting partners, I like to do a lot of the heavy lifting myself. Which is why I rewrote all of our design org job descriptions and this mini-manifesto for hiring design and digital teams:

"We know real change is hard work, which is why we need people who are aligned with our values and ready to make a serious impact on our industry and the world. We need your experience, optimism, and energy to define, design, and build the future.

We are throwing past constraints and assumptions out the window as we redesign and rebuild all of our digital products. From our native mobile apps to our extensive portfolio of online products and services, we aim to reset the bar for consumer experience in the financial industry. To accomplish our goals, we are building a team of professionals assembled from e-commerce, entertainment, fintech, and social media.

We are looking for people unafraid of bringing their authentic selves to work. Our inspiration and collaboration depend on the diversity of our teams and the inclusion of all voices in our process. We value honesty, transparency, and positive leadership. We are not interested in corporate politics. We appreciate action. We reward continual improvement. We want you to grow. We want you to be yourself. We want you to ask for help and help your peers. We want you to work hard and be proud of the results. We want you to take vacation. We know that when we support you, you will do the best work of your career.

Our eyes are on the future, and we need you to help make it happen, join us.

Follow me on LinkedIn for current openings on our team."

- From my Linkedin post Sept 2019

Building Culture & Process

While I was at Bank of the West it was critical to stay focused on intentionally transforming the culture. Transforming an organization is easy if you know the right small moves to make; they can have a huge impact. But those small moves can take time, and clear direction is needed.

While transforming and building the team at Bank of the West I set this as the direction for where we were headed in 2018:

"The role of design is critically important and highly visible as we lead the way in building the future of our brand. During this rapid growth period, we are intensely focused on three aspects of internal improvement to ensure success:

1. Fostering a fun and healthy design culture

2. Codifying a design process that is grounded in collaboration and group critique to support and challenge all designers to do their best work

3. Hiring and retaining extraordinarily talented individuals who desire to work in an environment where we all share the belief that ‘design is how it works’.     

 Our organization operates in a centralized partnership model. We are responsible for all product design, visual design, brand design, user experience design, content strategy, research, design operations, and program management. Our partnerships include deep collaboration with product, engineering, data, marketing, and business teams. Let’s GO!”

I love learning from peers and mentors who share my view that happy people produce better work. That's always been my focus when building teams and positive culture. I'd love to chat over virtual coffee to hear what you’ve learned in your career and share some of my strategies. Reach out to me on Linkedin to connect.