The Vanguard Group | Information Architecture & Usability Engineering
As an Information Architect and Usability Engineer at The Vanguard Group, I focused on designing B2B and B2C digital experiences for a wide range of financial products and services. At a time when “Design Thinking” was not yet widely understood, I played a key role in shifting internal perceptions of design from purely visual execution to a strategic, user-centered discipline. I partnered with business, marketing, and technology teams to influence early project requirements around end-user needs, advocating for dedicated time, budget, and resources for usability research and workflow validation. One of my proudest contributions was introducing video-based usability testing using interactive wireframe prototypes—creating highlight reels that captured users’ emotional and behavioral responses to proposed concepts. These artifacts became powerful tools for aligning stakeholders, demonstrating the tangible value of usability, and embedding design as a critical driver of customer satisfaction. My work included the development of information architecture models, workflows, style guides, usability testing programs, and visual design for initiatives such as Vanguard’s Individual and Institutional Portals (IIP) and the VIPERs promotional campaign announcing Vanguard’s entry into exchange-traded funds.
12 Step Design process - Used to illustrate what to expect when working with the “Design team”
INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE DIAGRAMS / STYLE GUIDES / WORKFLOWS
USABILITY TESTING / VIDEO HIGHLIGHTs - Capturing important interactions that illustrated intense impressions towards functionality, showed the project management team how important usability, and design patterns INFLUENCE the customer experience and satisfaction levels.
VISUAL DESIGN AND ARCHITECTURE / (IIP) Individual and Institutional Portal
VIPERS FLASH PROMOTIONAL ADVERTISEMENT - Announcing vanguard’s initial entry into Exchange Traded Funds (ETF’s)
