TIAA, Education & Advice

TIAA, Education & Advice Experience

Contributions

Working across product, research, strategy, and design system teams, I contributed to both the strategic direction and the detailed execution.

 

Strategy

  • Ensured the tool and its guidance were intuitive, human-centered, and aligned with the critical financial and life decisions users face.

  • Collaborated closely with product, research, and strategy teams to simplify complex retirement planning workflows, enhancing clarity and confidence.

  • Integrated behavioral insights and usability best practices into the design strategy to build trust and foster engagement among diverse user groups.

  • Advocated for the voice of the customer in strategic discussions to balance user needs with organizational objectives.

Design System & Craft

  • Created and iterated on multiple screen variations to explore design directions and capture stakeholder feedback.

  • Managed the component library for our channel, keeping patterns consistent and reusable across the experience.

  • Maintained dev-ready design files, ensuring engineers had accurate and up-to-date specifications for implementation.

  • Built and updated interactive prototypes to share with stakeholders and support decision-making.

  • Partnered with research to plan and support user testing, validating design decisions with real userfeedback.

Previous Experience

Participants nearing retirement faced significant challenges when trying to select the right income options from the experience. It was hard to navigate, the information architecture was confusing, and there was no clear call to action guiding users toward next steps.

Decision Paralysis

Users are overwhelmed by complex pathways and unclear labels, making it difficult to compare and evaluate their options.

Low Confidence

Without a clear structure or guided flow, participants are unsure whether they’re making the best choice for their retirement needs.

Inaction

The absence of a strong call to action leaves many users stalled at exploration, failing to take the critical step of selecting or confirming an income plan.

Updated experience

We set out to solve three major pain points by simplifying the content and structure of the experience:

Improved Wayfinding & Clarity

We streamlined wayfinding and restructured the information architecture, guiding users step by step so they could easily find and compare income options.

Built Confidence

We presented complex retirement income information in a clearer way, highlighting trade-offs to build confidence and reduce decision-making anxiety.

Drove Action

We introduced clear calls to action and contextual guidance, encouraging users to move forward with selecting an income plan while feeling supported.

Additional Work

Ideation

AI prompted concepts

Wireframes & Sitemaps