A FULL-SERVICE DESIGN STUDIO TO ESCALATE DESIGN MATURITY | KEYBANK

Summary

As the Experience Design Director at KeyBank, I tackled the challenges confronting the expanding product team, including lack of shareable resources, insufficient collaboration, and inadequate accountability for consistent customer experiences. Through the implementation of robust systems, fostering collaboration, and prioritizing user-centric design principles, I facilitated significant improvements in KeyBank's design operations. The Key team has successfully delivered enhanced customer experiences and achieved successful product launches and this proactive approach set a precedent for future innovation and growth within the organization.

The Challenge

KeyBank's product team was expanding swiftly across commercial, retail, and wealth segments, necessitating efficient design practices across various platforms.

The biggest obstacles were:

  • A lack of shareable resources for designers and developers

  • No collaboration across verticals

  • Very little accountability for consistent experience across customer journeys

I was tapped by the Head of Digital to become the Experience Director and create repeatable systems and processes, as well as governance for successful product development within the teams. In addition, I would build a Human Centered Design (HCD) Practice, to tackle specific strategic projects.

Research

I initiated the creation of the Key Design Studio website to attract talent and conducted thorough research to develop reusable assets and a Design Thinking framework. This involved assessing the existing processes and the team's proficiency with tools like Figma and Design Thinking methodologies. We also analyzed market trends to define job roles and establish guilds responsible for socializing methods and tracking outcomes. My primary goal was to create reusable assets, processes and a Design Thinking framework for all of the teams, so I focused on research around two major areas:

  • The current process that designers use to impact and enable their squads (the design team had recently adopted Figma as a tool for centralized design management)

  • Design team aptitude and comfort with Design Thinking and research methods

I also analyzed competitive and market trends and descriptions to develop the job roles for leads for the KeyBank design system, the KeyBank design thinking practice, KeyBank research and analytics and KeyBank digital team tools, processes and management. Each of these team leads would run a “guild,” made up of designers that were responsible for socializing their methods and tracking and trumpeting their outcomes.

Design & Definition

With foundational roles established, we proceeded to implement a design thinking playbook, user research tools, and a functional design system in Figma. OKRs were set to measure success, and processes were outlined for product design and delivery. Case studies were developed to showcase success stories, promoting a culture of innovation and excellence.

Impact

The goal of the foundational approach was to not just state that KeyBank would build human-centered products and services, but to actually provide a framework for success for the teams to work within. These initiatives yielded significant results:

We work for 3M clients and 17K employees

  • 86% of KeyBank digital team members reported a strong understanding of design thinking methodology.

  • Time to market decreased, with teams transitioning to shorter sprints based on rapid prototyping and testing.

  • Developers engaged in the KeyBank design system guild, enhancing collaboration and implementation of design system components.

  • Design maturity increased by 30%, with more stakeholders seeking design resources earlier in project life cycles.

  • Key Design Studio successfully managed operational tasks and launched multiple digital services and products, including the KeyBank Financial Wellness Review and Omni-Channel Digital Marketing.

    In accordance with my non-disclosure agreement with KeyBank, I have omitted confidential information from this case study. All information in this case study is expressed by me, and does not necessarily reflect the views of KeyBank or any of its employees.