Unifying Capital One’s Retail Experience
This story is about transforming siloed tools into a unified, scalable platform — and how I drove product, design, and engineering alignment to make it real.
Capital One
Associate tools for a growing bank
Business Context
Capital One was expanding sleek, urban Cafés for younger audiences while consolidating traditional Branches. Two very different customer bases. But the digital tools behind them were siloed, confusing, and costly. The business need was clear: unify the experiences into one cohesive platform.
Team & My Role
Our team included product managers, engineers, and researchers. My role: lead end-to-end design of the new tool, facilitate research in the field, and influence product/engineering direction.
User Segments
We were designing for extremes: mobile-first millennials and branch-loyal retirees. The challenge was building a single experience that spanned generations, habits, and expectations — without overwhelming either group.
Research & Journey Mapping
I embedded in both Cafés and Branches — shadowing associates, interviewing customers, and mapping the journey. Gaps quickly emerged: conflicting tools, poor data visibility, redundant marketing copy. This fieldwork gave me the evidence to drive alignment with leadership on why unification mattered.
Defining Apex
Through mapping and workshops, we identified which tools could merge and which needed to stay distinct. That led to Apex — a unified digital platform for both Cafés and Branches. I owned the design direction from concept sketches through high-fidelity prototypes.
Influencing Product Direction
A pivotal moment was platform choice. Leadership leaned web for speed. I created low-fi prototypes to demonstrate how native would unlock offline functionality, smoother hand-offs, and adoption in the field. This influenced engineering to commit to a native app.
Iteration with Associates
I co-designed with associates, bringing wireframes into the field and running stack-ranking sessions. We mapped features by importance, using Trello boards to capture real-time feedback. This ensured Apex was grounded in frontline needs — not assumptions from HQ.
The Challenge
Customers saw Capital One as one brand, but internally the experiences diverged. Associates struggled with duplicate tools, customers felt inconsistent journeys, and leadership lacked unified data. I was tasked with designing a solution that worked across demographics, contexts, and devices.
Key Design Challenge: Product Cards
One challenge was the product cards. Old tools were cluttered with imagery and jargon. I applied a "complexion reduction" approach — stripping down to essential visuals and language. The result: cards that were fast to parse, clear across demographics, and scalable to future offerings.
Looking forward
For me, Apex was more than a tool. It represents Staff-level design leadership:
Driving product direction (native vs web)
Aligning teams through field research and co-design
Delivering a scalable system still in use years later
It was a shift from being a UI contributor to becoming a strategic partner — influencing not just what we built, but how the organization thought about retail experience at scale."*
Beyond MVP
The work didn’t stop. I expanded Apex to integrate Money Coaching — both physical artifacts and digital exercises — and began consolidating LobbyOne, the branch triage tool. This showed the extensibility of the platform and set the stage for ongoing consolidation.
Impact
The MVP launched in 2018 and scaled to 600+ retail locations nationwide. For the first time, Capital One had one platform spanning Branches and Cafés. Apex simplified offerings, boosted associate confidence, and gave leadership unified data — creating real business and customer impact.
Final Experience
The final Apex system was modular: associates could start sessions, hand the iPad to customers, and navigate seamlessly. Every step was designed with intention — from authentication to hand-offs — reducing friction in real interactions.
Transparency & Trust
We also tackled transparency. Previously, only associates saw customer history via EASE Admin. I prototyped exposing this to customers through a Customer Profile. Using removable data tiles, we tested comfort levels. This research shaped exactly what data to show, balancing empowerment with privacy.
