Based on research findings, the Earnest brand felt outdated to consumers. Additionally, the products were overly complex and difficult for users to understand, and the user experience lacked consistency and visual appeal. This compromised the overall experience and negatively affected brand trust.
I spearheaded a complete brand & user transformation, building a comprehensive design system from the ground up that ensured a consistent, scalable, and cohesive experience across platforms. The rebrand was highly successful and helped Earnest strengthen its market position, enabling it to become the leading student loan financing provider in the U.S.
After the design audit, I collaborated with Earnest’s leadership team, designers, and marketers to ensure we crafted design principles based on company values. After numerous designs and multiple iterations, we made several important design decisions and laid the foundation for the visual strategy. First, we would abandon tables altogether and make offers feel more palpable to users with a set of sleek, beautifully designed cards.
We also established that dark backgrounds would be to foster moments of delight and education for users, and light background colors would be for moments where users require focus and clarity. Overall, we wanted to create momentum for users as they go through the long-form journey.
