Ascent’s Loan Application Redesign
The Process
My primary focus at Ascent was to redesign the core product experience and enhance user conversion. To ensure the redesign would be truly effective, I first immersed myself in understanding the experience from both the user’s perspective and the company's. I carefully examined user journeys, key touch points like email triggers, and various use cases, as well as the different user statuses within the system. This research laid the foundation for a comprehensive flow map of the existing experience, where I identified inefficiencies, redundancies, and key opportunities for improvement, enabling me to craft a more seamless and impactful user experience.
A mobile first solution
One of the issues I identified with the application was the lack of responsiveness. To solve for this we took a mobile first design approach. This led to the concept of a question answer format, presenting our users with a single question at a time. By asking a single question at a time, I was able to maximize white space and reduce the cognitive load of our users. This also allowed us to utilize the white space better with ads for new products or tips to help our users.
↓ 43%
Reduction in borrower application time
↓ 42%
Reduction in outgoing customer service calls
↓ 13%
Reduction in user calls
Communicating with users
A key improvement I made to Ascent's user experience was refining the UX content throughout the application. Clear, concise, and empathetic messaging became especially critical during key interactions, such as when users were selecting loan terms and navigating automated emails. By ensuring the language was intuitive, reassuring, and aligned with the users' needs, I was able to guide them through complex decisions with greater ease, while fostering trust and clarity throughout their journey.
~60
fewer emails to manage
~10
fewer automated emails sent per application
UX writing success
An important aspect of my work on Ascent’s UX writing was aligning the user experience with business objectives. The product team faced a challenge in ensuring that users selected loan types within specific percentage limits to meet business requirements. To help address this, I focused on refining the UX copy where users chose their loan type. By adjusting the language and the framing of the options, I was able to subtly guide users toward a more balanced selection. The result was a 5% reduction in deferred product selections—surpassing the product team’s goal of a 3% decrease—demonstrating how thoughtful UX writing can directly influence both user behavior and business outcomes.
↓ 5%
Reduction of deferred loan selections
