Launching a new brand, a responsive redesign and a re-imagined customer experience that explored the pleasure points of paying bills — in under 12 months.
I led a full-stack redesign of Prosper’s product, brand, and funnel with a skeleton crew and no margin for error. We rebuilt trust from the ground up — and helped turn around conversion at a critical moment.
Challenge
“Can we rebrand, rebuild the funnel, and redesign the site — all at once?”
Prosper was one of the first P2P lenders, but years of UX debt and a dated brand had eroded trust. Conversion was dropping. There was no design manager, no brand strategist — and no time to get it wrong.
Role & Team
Lead Designer, 2016–2017
I led the redesign solo across product, brand, and funnel — partnering with 4 designers, 1 PM, 1 FE lead, 1 researcher, and 1 copywriter. My role spanned UX, UI, visual identity, design systems, and go-to-market strategy.
Impact
Conversion up. Trust rebuilt. Design culture transformed.
The relaunch marked a turning point for Prosper. Funnel completion improved dramatically. The new brand established credibility. Design became a strategic partner — and many of my systems are still in use today.
The ask
Prosper was one of the first peer-to-peer lending platforms — but by the time I joined, the product was bloated with UX debt and the brand had lost credibility. Conversion rates were slipping. Users didn’t trust what they couldn’t understand.
The ask was ambitious:
“Can we rebrand, rebuild the funnel, and redesign the site — with a small team and zero room for error?”
There was no dedicated visual designer, brand strategist, or design manager. I took point across all of it.
My Role
- Acted as lead visual and product designer across web, product, and brand
- Created personas and journey maps from scratch, informed by research and analytics
- Led Prosper’s visual identity refresh — UI, typography, color, iconography, imagery direction
- Art-directed and mentored junior designers
- Partnered with the design team and engineering to design, build and manage scalable design system
- Defined and optimized the full user conversion funnel
Approach
1. Grounded in Research
We kicked off with user interviews, behavioral analytics, and a deep funnel audit. I synthesized findings into clear personas and journey maps that anchored both creative and UX decisions.
The root issue was trust — and design needed to earn it at every step.
2. Designing a Brand from the Inside Out
With no dedicated visual designer on staff and minimal guidance from our branding agency, I led the creation of a new visual language from scratch: typography, color palette, iconography, and UI patterns. The goal was a voice that felt credible but warm, human but responsible — matching the emotional stakes of borrowing and lending money.
3. Systems and Scale
To ensure speed and consistency, I collaborated with our FE lead to create a flexible design system. We worked in tight Figma-to-code loops, built a component library, and future-proofed for scale.
4. Funnel, Optimized
I ran A/B tests, rewrote microcopy, and redesigned key steps in the funnel to improve clarity and reduce abandonment. We integrated trust signals, simplified decision-making, and used progressive disclosure to surface information without overwhelming the user.
Outcome
- Successful relaunch of Prosper’s brand and marketing site
- Major lift in funnel conversion (exact numbers confidential, but widely celebrated internally)
- Company-wide buy-in for continued investment in design systems and UX
- Key elements of the visual language remain in use today
- Cultural shift: design became more research-driven, cross-functional, and strategically valued
“I wore every hat on this project — and helped an entire company see what design can be when it’s trusted to lead.”