Discover Personal Loans
Research-Led Acquisition Platform Redesign
This project focused on Discover Personal Loans, Marketing & Acquisition during a broader brand refresh. The existing acquisition site did not clearly support how prospective borrowers compared options, understood affordability, or decided whether to apply.
The opportunity was to improve how people evaluated personal loan options before entering the application, while aligning the experience to Discover’s updated brand and performance expectations.
CLIENT: Discover Personal Loans, Marketing & Acquisition
MY ROLE: Strategy & UX Design Lead
Challenge
The challenge was to increase conversion while preserving trust and understanding in a high-stakes financial decision. Prospective borrowers needed fast access to information like payment expectations and loan terms, without feeling overwhelmed or pressured.
At the same time, the experience had to reflect Discover’s new visual and verbal brand, meet accessibility standards, and perform reliably across desktop and mobile. Any gains in engagement needed to maintain clarity, compliance, and credibility throughout the journey.
At the same time, the experience had to reflect Discover’s new visual and verbal brand, meet accessibility standards, and perform reliably across desktop and mobile. Any gains in engagement needed to maintain clarity, compliance, and credibility throughout the journey.
Approach
To address this challenge, we focused on how people actually evaluated personal loan options before deciding to apply. Research across market trends and user behavior helped us understand where prospects paused, what questions surfaced early, and which information increased confidence versus hesitation.
Based on these insights, we reshaped the acquisition experience to surface payment expectations sooner, simplify how loan options were explored, and remove unnecessary steps before application. I partnered closely with the client team, working alongside senior leadership in an agency–client partnership, to ensure the experience aligned to Discover’s evolving brand while remaining accessible and consistent across devices.
Based on these insights, we reshaped the acquisition experience to surface payment expectations sooner, simplify how loan options were explored, and remove unnecessary steps before application. I partnered closely with the client team, working alongside senior leadership in an agency–client partnership, to ensure the experience aligned to Discover’s evolving brand while remaining accessible and consistent across devices.
Results
After launch, the redesigned experience increased application starts and improved overall engagement across key entry pages. Users spent more time exploring options and were less likely to exit early, indicating clearer understanding before entering the application flow.
This work was recognized with the 2023 Banking Tech Award for Best User Experience and as a Webby Awards Honoree for Best User Interface, reinforcing the value of clear, research-informed decision support in personal loan acquisition.
This work was recognized with the 2023 Banking Tech Award for Best User Experience and as a Webby Awards Honoree for Best User Interface, reinforcing the value of clear, research-informed decision support in personal loan acquisition.
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