First Republic Bank

Leadership Talent Acquisition Culture Carrier Cross-Collaboration Innovation Design System

As Design Director, my first challenge was to build a startup-like design agency within the bank that thrived on agility and innovation. To attract top talent, I cultivated a team culture that inspired creative minds to join. This meant fostering an environment where every voice was valued, and the team could continuously refine its process together. I led bi-weekly retrospectives, weekly game hang-outs, regular feedback sessions, and impactful design critiques, ensuring that collaboration and inclusion were at the heart of everything we did. And we accomplished a lot along the way… Continue

Naturally, there were plenty of challenges. We had to navigate bank regulations, technology limitations, and vendor systems, finding innovative solutions within those constraints. We successfully introduced and implemented design methodologies across the organization, transforming how teams approached projects. I also collaborated closely with the agency side ensuring alignment across all projects and fostering a shared sense of inclusion within our evolving team culture.

Over two years, our team of junior and senior designers completely reimagined the bank’s digital landscape. We built a unified, scalable design ecosystem that modernized the customer experience across both mobile and desktop platforms. And we also had some fun while doing it.

First Republic

Dashboard Redesign

Tech Debt Multi-Device Optimization Accessibility Speed Improvement Performance Boost
  • Reimagined the consumer mobile and desktop dashboard
  • Built redesign from the ground up utilizing a component-based design system
  • Significantly improved speed and performance across all devices
First Republic

Digital Account Opening

Lead Designer Process Overhaul User Satisfaction Conversion Boost Drop-Off Reduction
  • Sole designer leading the overhaul of the Digital Account Opening process
  • Designed an intuitive application that addressed user pain points
  • Optimized the flow, cutting completion time from 40 minutes to less than 10

Private Wealth

Vendor Constraints Functionality Usability User Satisfaction Technology Challenges
  • Developed creative workarounds for immense vendor restrictions and tech limitations
  • Enhanced functionality and addressed longstanding usability issues
  • Replaced a piecemeal system with a holistic user experience

Design System

Design Leadership Creative Direction Empowerment Illustration Stakeholder Buy-In
  • Hired a senior design team and built the foundation for an evolving design system
  • Turned a highly fragmented product into a cohesive user experience
  • Pushed for deep creative exploration, including new illustrations, icons, and new visual ways for articulating the bank’s ethos