SoFi • 4 min read
Onboarding & Applications
Streamlining 3 product flows with the goal of increasing app submission rate for 9M+ members
ROLE
Product Design Intern
TIMELINE
Jun to Sep 2024
(3 months)
STAKEHOLDERS
Design, Product, Engineering, Research, Business, UX Writing
DELIVERABLES
Design workshop
Responsive prototypes
Usability testing
Final specs
Exec presentations
✨ HIGHLIGHTS
Led an end-to-end redesign of three product flows, set to launch in Q4 2024
Achieved a high ease of completion score in usability testing and a projected 7% increase in app submission rate
Won an intern case study competition and drove SEO improvements outside of my project
BACKGROUND
What is SoFi's marketplace?
SoFi’s marketplace, Lantern by SoFi, is a service to help members shop and find financing, including personal loans, student loan refinancing, and business loans. While SoFi doesn’t provide loans directly, their marketplace can help people quickly find the financing solutions in one search.
Personalized loan offers in one search
The project goal
SoFi was experiencing a user drop off issue across their loan application funnels. They tasked me with redesigning the user experiences to increase app submission rates.
Requirements:
Unify the user experience across 4 product flows
Apply SoFi's new Pacific design system
Optimize the application funnels to reduce user friction
🔮 OPPORTUNITY
Expand SoFi's customer base to small business owners in the US (33.2 million, 46% of the labor market) by growing their new Small Business product
End-to-end design process
What I did. Note: I learned and used Jira to give teammates visibility into my work
More process work to come soon. Want to learn more? Feel free to reach out
REFLECTION
Thank you, SoFi!
What I would've done differently
Clarify open questions asap
During the first few weeks of my internship, I wasn't entirely clear on the scope of my work just from reading the project brief. Moving forward, I'll make sure to promptly clarify any open questions with teammates.
Learning
Systems thinking
This project called for horizontal design work, requiring a high-level analysis of the situation. I began by focusing on the basics—user flow and information architecture—which laid the foundation for deep design improvements.
Area of growth
Taking feedback with a smile
I recall receiving over 50 Figma comments on my designs during a product review! As a designer, handling extensive feedback is part of the process. I learned to be receptive to different perspectives while still holding onto a clear design vision.
I'm incredibly grateful for the opportunity to join SoFi in revolutionizing personal finance. I learned about fintech, met role models and intern buddies, and had the opportunity to own a project on the company roadmap. This is the just the start of my passion for product design—I look forward to what's next.