The Resume
The Resume
The Resume
CASE STUDY: PRUDNETIAL
Prudential Retirement App
Reimagining a flagship retirement app while redefining how Prudential approached mobile product design.
PROJECT AT A GLANCE
ROLE
Director, UI/UX • 2018
PLATFORM
iOS and Android Mobile App
USERS
Global Commercial Banking Teams
PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES
-
Design Leadership
-
Visual Design
-
Product Strategy
-
Mobile UI Design
-
Creative Direction
-
Executive Presentation
-
Cross-functional Collaboration
-
Team Leadership
-
Rapid Prototyping
-
Design System Evolution
THE CHALLENGE
What began as a visual refresh quickly became an effort to rebuild confidence in an app that had already developed a negative reputation.
Following launch, the original Prudential Retirement app received harsh criticism in the App Store, including public reviews questioning the overall quality of the experience. The feedback reached senior leadership, prompting an executive review of our department's work and a decision to completely rethink the application.
Complicating matters further, a major retirement conference was only weeks away. While a production-ready application wasn't realistic within that timeframe, leadership needed a compelling vision that demonstrated to employees, customers, and executives that Prudential was moving in a new direction.
The challenge wasn't simply redesigning an app—it was restoring confidence under an aggressive deadline while establishing a new visual direction for future mobile products.
WHAT MADE THIS PROJECT HARD?
An Impossible Timeline
Only weeks remained before a major company conference where the redesigned app would be unveiled to employees and customers.
A Public Reputation to Repair
The redesign wasn't replacing a successful product—it was responding to public criticism and rebuilding confidence in the experience.
Breaking My Own Rules
The existing Prudential Design System had been created to ensure consistency across products, but following it too closely prevented the app from feeling like a modern mobile experience.
Executive Expectations
The redesign needed approval from multiple senior vice presidents while communicating a bold new direction for the company's mobile products.
Limited Resources
My senior UI designer began paternity leave during the project's most critical week, leaving me responsible for delivering the final visual direction.
The Design Was Only the Beginning
The conference presentation required static visuals, but every decision needed to establish principles that could guide the eventual production application.
THE WORK CYCLE
Existing Wireframes
Review Current Design System
Executive Feedback
Complete Visual Redesign
Presentation Prototype
Executive Approval
Conference Launch
Product Design Support
Tactical Redesign Team
UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEM
As the team began translating existing wireframes into high-fidelity designs, it became clear that our current design system wasn't producing the experience leadership envisioned.
The design system had been created primarily for responsive websites containing large amounts of content. Applied directly to a native mobile application, the interface felt heavy, constrained, and lacked the personality expected from a standalone mobile experience.
After reviewing the initial concepts, senior leadership rejected the direction.
Rather than viewing this as a failure, I saw it as confirmation that the project required a different mindset. Mobile applications have different expectations than responsive websites, and simply applying the same visual language wasn't enough.
This realization fundamentally changed my approach. Instead of asking how closely we could follow the design system, I began asking what kind of experience users would expect from a modern retirement app—and whether the design system should evolve to support that vision.
STRATEGIC DECISION 1: CHALLENGE THE DESIGN SYSTEM
The Challenge
The existing design system had been highly successful for responsive websites, but applying it directly to a native mobile application resulted in an interface that felt rigid and visually uninspiring.
Leadership wanted something that looked distinctly like a modern mobile app—not a website compressed onto a phone.
My Decision
Rather than treating the design system as a strict set of rules, I viewed it as a foundation. I retained Prudential's brand identity while introducing new typography, spacing, visual hierarchy, and interaction patterns better suited to mobile devices.
This allowed the app to establish its own identity without losing its connection to the broader brand.
Why It Mattered
The redesign demonstrated that design systems should provide consistency—not creative limitations. By adapting the system instead of abandoning it, we created a mobile experience that felt contemporary while laying the groundwork for future standalone applications across Prudential.
STRATEGIC DECISION 2: DESIGN FOR EXECUTIVE CONFIDENCE
The Challenge
The immediate audience wasn't App Store users—it was senior leadership and conference attendees. The presentation needed to convince stakeholders that the organization had a clear vision despite the compressed timeline.
My Decision
I focused on creating a polished, aspirational experience that communicated confidence, clarity, and quality. Every screen was designed as though the product were ready for launch, even though the presentation consisted only of static mockups.
Why It Mattered
The presentation successfully shifted the conversation from the app's previous shortcomings to its future potential, earning executive support and establishing a new direction for the product.
STRATEGIC DECISION 3: BUILD THE RIGHT TEAM AT THE RIGHT TIME
The Challenge
When production development began, the visual direction became diluted as competing ideas were introduced, causing the experience to lose the focused mobile-first approach established during the redesign.
My Decision
The new Vice President recognized the issue and asked me to assemble a small tactical team that could rapidly redesign and prototype a more cohesive mobile experience without the usual organizational overhead.
Working under extremely tight deadlines, we focused exclusively on creating a product that behaved like a true standalone mobile application.
Why It Mattered
The tactical team's work restored the original vision, met the delivery deadline, and demonstrated the value of empowered, cross-functional design teams focused on solving user problems instead of navigating organizational politics.
WHAT I LEARNED
"The project reminded me that great mobile experiences aren't created by shrinking desktop ideas -they're created by embracing the unique strengths of the platform from the very beginning."
This project fundamentally changed how I think about design systems.
Before this experience, I viewed them primarily as tools for consistency. Afterward, I began seeing them as living frameworks that should evolve alongside new products, platforms, and user expectations.
It also reinforced the importance of decisive leadership during periods of uncertainty. There are moments when collaboration is essential, and there are moments when someone must take ownership, make informed decisions, and move the work forward. Knowing the difference is one of the most valuable lessons I've carried throughout my career.
Most importantly, the project reminded me that great mobile experiences aren't created by shrinking desktop ideas—they're created by embracing the unique strengths of the platform from the very beginning.
OUTCOMES
Although the project began as a response to public criticism, it became a catalyst for broader change within Prudential's design organization.
The redesigned experience:
-
Established a new visual direction for standalone mobile products.
-
Influenced future interaction and animation standards.
-
Achieved a 15% increase in app downloads at launch.
-
Improved customer reviews.
-
Expanded opportunities for the design team to lead additional strategic initiatives.
-
Demonstrated that mobile products required their own design principles rather than direct extensions of responsive web experiences.
LOOKING BACK...
Looking back, I remain proud of the overall direction and the decisions that shaped the project. Challenging the design system and advocating for a mobile-first approach ultimately proved to be the right choice, even if it required stepping outside established processes.
If I could revisit the project today, I would involve development earlier in the exploratory phase to ensure the production implementation stayed closer to the original vision. While the tactical redesign successfully realigned the product, earlier collaboration might have reduced the need for a second major course correction.
This project reinforced a lesson that continues to influence my work today: design systems should empower innovation, not constrain it. The best systems provide consistency while leaving room for products to express the needs of their users and the strengths of their platform.