Corporate Banking Website

I joined the project as Product Designer in 2023, knowing from the start that the six-month timeline was driven more by corporate approval cycles than actual design work.

The bank's website was serving a complex global audience, and the existing structure couldn't handle that complexity. Clients struggled to find information relevant to their region. Internal teams across countries were bottlenecked by the need for developer support just to update a page or launch a campaign.

The core challenge was making WordPress work for a modern, multi-regional corporate site. WordPress isn't as flexible as custom coding, so I had to maneuver around its limitations to create layouts that felt polished and professional. I introduced a design system built on typography layouts, photography standards, and animation guidelines that gave teams the tools to create consistent content without needing design oversight for every decision. Accessibility was non-negotiable, so we targeted WCAG compliance and fixed issues around contrast, focus order, and heading structure that had been ignored in the previous version.

Performance and search visibility were major pain points. Users complained that research on the site was difficult, which hurt both customer experience and SEO. I worked to streamline the information architecture and improve page load times, which led to faster loading speeds and better search rankings. Analytics revealed that type weight and spacing adjustments improved readability significantly, so we iterated on those details until the site felt easier to scan and navigate.

One of the most impactful changes was setting up the CMS to keep editors on rails without making them feel restricted. We created templates and contributor guidelines that let marketing and legal teams publish content confidently while maintaining visual consistency. This governance structure reduced the need for constant review cycles and meant teams could move faster without sacrificing quality.

The results were tangible. Publishing time dropped, UI defects decreased, and accessibility scores improved across the board. The site became a tool that teams could actually use rather than a bottleneck they had to work around. The project proved that with the right design system and CMS structure, you can give non-technical teams real autonomy without losing control of quality.