Freddie Mac: CRT
Turning dense regulatory content into something people could actually navigate.
Project Overview
The CRT Microsite project was initially launched as a proof of concept. The project team, comprising of the Digital Marketing and CRT teams, successfully developed and launched an improved and intuitive version of the site.
Following the launch, the team gathered data on user behavior for over a year, which provided an opportunity to enhance the microsite's competitiveness in the fixed-income market.
Tools
- Sketch
- InDesign
- CrownPeak
Team
- 1 UX designer
- 1 Project Manager
- 1 Product Manager
- 3 Developers
My Role
- Lead UX Designer
- UX Researcher (UX, UI, Content)
- Workshop facilitator
Timeline
- Overall: 3 Months
- Discovery & Research: 2+ weeks
Contents
Discovery
Interviews
At the beginning of the project, I conducted a few internal interviews because I needed to get a good idea of what CRT was and the problem associated with the site, as I wasn't involved in the initial iteration.
Problem
The goal of the CRT Microsite was to market CRT offerings and sell solutions more effectively. However, due to tight deadlines during the initial launch, several requirements were missed.
With the onset of COVID-19 and the cessation of in-person roadshows and conferences, the website and its information became critical for investors. The opportunity arose to make the Microsite more competitive in the fixed-income market. Investors found the site easy to navigate, but in some cases, there were too many clicks to access the information they desired.
Previously, the site separated STACR and ACIS offerings, but anecdotal evidence indicated that it might have made sense to combine them under one heading. As the site was originally geared towards regulators and the general housing market, it was not as focused on investors and did not effectively highlight the benefits of the offerings.
Solution
The objective of the solution was to make the site more sales-oriented in order to generate more capital for the company. Additionally, the site aimed to provide information to current and potential investors, as well as retain a high percentage of investors for every deal. Bond characteristics were identified as a reason investors did not return to the site.
- Generate content centered around Freddie Mac selling points; establish a voice of innovation, safety and leadership. Communicate user-centered benefits alongside offering features.
- Make continuous data-driven enhancements to the UI in order to ease friction as users navigate and search the site to find relevant resources.
- Expand messaging and content to deliver the right information to our users at the right time through the right channels.
- Keep our users up-to-date with recent events and their effect on Freddie Mac CRT.
Discovery Deck
UI Design
Content-Focused Approach
As User Experience (UX) was still a relatively new concept at Freddie Mac, I found it important to educate as well as present my findings. To achieve this, I established a “Content-Focused Approach” early on in the project timeline.
Why? This approach optimizes the overall content through design, creating consistency across the site. It also helps to minimize the number of rounds of iteration.
The new interface would include several key elements, such as…
Optimized Content
Optimized content that effectively communicates confidence in Freddie Mac's offerings.
Visual Hierarchy
A clearer visual hierarchy to enhance navigability.
Search
An improved search feature to make it easier for users to find what they need.
Content Management
Improved content management for text-heavy pages, to ensure a more user-friendly experience.
User Interface
Conclusion
Though I left before every page was pushed to production, the preliminary data was showing improvements to the path our users are taking through the site.
“Thank you for reading my case study!”
Want to work with me? Feel free to contact me, or say hello on LinkedIn.