Decision in principle

Project Overview

Objective: Redesign the online mortgage application journey to improve conversion rates and user satisfaction.

About Nationwide

Nationwide is the world’s largest building society. Operated for the benefit of its members, it offers a variety of personal finance services including current accounts, mortgages, savings, and insurance products.

Project Goals

The redesign of the Mortgage Decision in Principle (DIP) journey aimed to:

• Simplify a complex, jargon-heavy process
• Reduce user drop-offs and input errors
• Increase online application completions
• Shorten call times to Mortgage Advisers
• Create a scalable and maintainable product for the future
• Expand the journey to better serve a broader range of customer edge cases, such as multiple property owners, shared ownership schemes, and non-traditional income scenarios

This was more than a visual refresh—it was a strategic effort to elevate the product experience and support business growth through design.

Design Constraints

• Complex mortgage process with confusing terms and dense inputs
• Legacy tech limiting delivery and interaction options
• Regulatory rules restricting content and data handling
• Users rushed forms, often finishing by phone
• Needed a maintainable, future-proof solution

My Role and Team

Role: Lead UI Designer (Remote)

I led the visual and interaction design, as well as the strategic design approach. I defined and validated the design strategy based on a hypothesis-led process grounded in research, business goals, and user needs. These user needs were derived from in-depth interviews and feedback from customers who had previously used the old journey.

The design team consisted of just me and one UX Researcher. We collaborated closely with:

• Front-End and Back-End Developers
• Product Managers
• Business Stakeholders
• A Mortgage Adviser (who transitioned into a Project Manager role and embraced design thinking throughout the project)

Our work was conducted in agile sprints, with continuous collaboration across disciplines to align design and delivery.

Project Kickoff

We began by aligning on business objectives, user pain points, and technical constraints. The kickoff involved stakeholder interviews and collaborative workshops that laid the groundwork for research and ideation. Our shared mission: to make the mortgage DIP process simpler, faster, and more intuitive.

Communication and Collaboration

Throughout the project, we maintained close communication via Slack, Miro, Jira, and Figma. We presented ideas and progress in sprint reviews, stakeholder meetings, and design critiques. Developers were involved early to surface constraints and validate feasibility.

Research & Assumptions

We hypothesised that users:

• Were confused by financial jargon
• Felt overwhelmed by long forms
• Wanted a quick decision without unnecessary complexity

To validate these, we conducted:

• User Interviews with first-time buyers and remortgage customers, including users of the legacy journey
• Stakeholder Interviews with advisers, service teams, and product owners
• Journey Mapping to identify friction points
• Usability Testing with three coded prototype flows to assess clarity and ease of use

These insights informed every design decision and helped us prioritise improvements that mattered most to users.

Design Solutions

• Content Chunking
  We broke long forms into smaller, manageable steps to reduce cognitive load and help users feel a sense of progress.
• Progressive Disclosure
  We used conditional logic to surface only the relevant questions based on prior inputs, reducing visual clutter.
• Visual Support
  Illustrations and visual cues were introduced to humanise the experience and guide users through unfamiliar territory.
• Error Reduction
  Clear input labels, inline help, improved validation, and better field organisation reduced user mistakes, improved data quality, and minimised friction.
• Scalability
  By using the Nationwide Design System, we ensured brand consistency and built a solution that could be easily maintained and evolved by future teams.

Brand Storytelling & Visual Design

To make the journey more relatable and engaging, I crafted a visual narrative centred around Nationwide’s first-ever mortgage property in London. I created over 30 bespoke illustrations and hand-coded SVG animations to bring the story to life in a friendly, human way.

These visual elements not only enhanced the brand experience but also helped more visually minded users to quickly grasp the meaning of key content. Customers responded positively during testing, and as a playful personal touch, I included a spider plant in the house window a nod to a much-loved office plant that added warmth and charm.

Decision Making

Key decisions were made collaboratively, grounded in:

• Usability testing insights
• Business and compliance requirements
• Technical feasibility
• Stakeholder priorities

We balanced short-term improvements with long-term sustainability to deliver a future-proof solution.

Measurement & Outcomes

We tracked:

• Application completion rates
• User error frequency
• User feedback from testing
• Internal support call volume

Outcomes:

• Increased user completions through clearer, shorter steps
• Reduced need for support due to improved guidance and validation
• Greater user confidence thanks to friendly visual cues
• Easier maintenance and scalability for internal teams

Reflection

This project is a clear example of how thoughtful design can drive growth. We didn’t just make the form look better—we made it work better, for everyone. By prioritising clarity, usability, and long-term flexibility, we created a mortgage journey that truly supports Nationwide’s members and the business.

Design System and Scalability

We used the Nationwide Design System to ensure consistency, accessibility and brand alignment. Using this shared system saved time and development effort. It also allowed us to build with scalability in mind so that the journey could evolve as product needs changed.

Our design decisions were informed by the need for long-term sustainability. We considered how future teams would update the interface and ensured components could be reused and adapted easily.

Outcome: Creating Space for Growth

• Users found the new journey easier to follow and more approachable
• Shorter steps and clearer instructions increased completion rates
• Visual elements helped users feel more at ease during the process
• Internal teams expect fewer support calls due to improved clarity and validation
• After launch, we conducted multiple rounds of user testing and iterations to expand the journey to more user edge cases, such as multiple property owners and buyer ownership schemes.

This project demonstrates how meaningful growth can come from good design. By addressing the details that matter to users, we created a product that is both more helpful for customers and more efficient for the business.