Overview
Point72 is a leading global asset management firm that specializes in investing and managing capital across various markets and industries.
Their objective for this project was to revolutionize their digital presence with a dynamic and interactive platform that not only attracts new talent but also showcases their diverse sectors and value of community engagement.
In this case study, I’ll dive into the journey of how I helped Point72 achieve their goal with a cutting-edge redesign where I focused on delivering a seamless user experience, visually captivating design, and proficient front-end and WordPress development.
This project took place from December 2021 - July 2022.
Roles & Responsibilities
UI/UX Design
- Competitive Analysis
- Stakeholder Interviews
- User Research
- Site Map
- Low Fidelity Wireframes
- Wordpress UI Content Modeling
Visual Design
- Interaction Design
- High Fidelity Page Mockups
- Design System & UI Kit
Development
- Front-end development
- Wordpress custom theme development
Research Methods & Findings
Following a competitive analysis, I found that while similar industry career pages offered more comprehensive details on benefits, they were often poorly designed and written. Further research on career pages within and beyond the industry revealed that stronger competitors presented their career pages with a more confident tone and comprehensive benefit explanations.
Additionally, stakeholder interviews revealed that they wanted to differentiate themselves by speaking in a conversational tone, which is consistent with their brand identity, as opposed to the more corporate tone of their competitors.
- One of the most important pages on the site, “Open Roles”, was buried in the dropdown navigation.
- The menu experience was buggy and difficult to navigate.
- Design was outdated and in need of a refresh.
- The user flow lacked a cohesive, smooth experience between pages.
- Despite the client's emphasis on the importance of their employees, the website did not effectively showcase their team.
Purpose & Goals
To gain a clear understanding of the project's purpose and goals, I conducted a Why/How/What exercise, which involved assessing the organization's objectives and identifying the needs of users. By doing so, I was able to formulate a more effective strategy that would address those needs and align with the overall goals of the project.
Why
Discover the Company Purpose and Belief
- Fueled by fresh challenges that inspire the business to constantly innovate and push beyond boundaries.
- Firmly believe that diversity is a strength, and wants to foster a vibrant community that celebrates and leverages the unique perspectives and talents of every individual.
How
Understand the Unique Value Proposition
- Commit to hiring exceptional individuals who possess a unique combination of intuition, street smarts, and a sharp ability to identify the right investment opportunities.
- Create a culture of excellence and success that will benefit both the company and its clients
What
Identify Services to support Why & How
- Offer coaching and training opportunities
- Conduct cutting-edge research
- Providing internships and excellent benefits
- Promote diversity and inclusion
- Highlight multiple locations and a philanthropic culture, which fosters a strong sense of community.
Users & Target Audience
Primary Audience
Students & Early Career Professionals
- Relatively new to the field of asset management but are enthusiastic about learning.
- They may possess a basic understanding of financial markets but not necessarily have any direct experience in the field.
- This group is particularly interested in career development opportunities and growth potential.
Primary Audience
Seasoned Professionals
- Experience in asset management, possibly at a competing firm or in a related field like finance or banking.
- They seek career advancement and want to work with a reputable firm but may need convincing to choose this company over other job opportunities.
Secondary Audience
Potential Investors
- Likely looking for a company that has a strong track record of financial success and is transparent in its investment strategies.
Secondary Audience
Regulators
- Looking for a firm that follows industry standards and has a robust compliance program.
Navigating the User Journey
To create an intuitive site map and user navigation flow, I began by carefully examining each page of the existing website and identifying the most important pages, as well as opportunities to consolidate content.
Key Takeaways:
- My primary goal was to streamline the navigation process, enabling users to quickly and easily locate the "open roles" page.
- I took the key pages and experimented with their order and relevance, as well as brainstormed different naming conventions.
- I focused on creating a compelling and engaging user experience, ensuring that the navigation flow told a story that highlighted Point72's values, passions, and unique attributes.
Building a Site Map
One significant challenge I encountered was the sheer volume of relevant pages, which required a strategic approach to organization and structuring.
After determining the basic navigation structure, and using the client’s content deck as reference, I built out a high level view of every necessary section for every page.
Storytelling with Navigation
There were a lot of important pages to include but I wanted to keep the main navigation clean and simple. I broke down the story into 4 main sections to tell Point72’s story:
- About Us
- Careers
- Perspectives (blog)
- Browse Open Roles
About Us
I proposed that the secondary audience would most likely want to navigate the site using the “About Us” pages. Because there were several important pages that would be relevant to this audience, I felt a small mega menu would help guide them to key information.
Careers
I considered the pages under careers the most important for the primary audience (besides taking direct action with “Browse Open Roles”). Because the primary audience had sub groups that had different needs, I divided the mega menu up into three distinct sections.
-
Why You Should Join Our Team
This page tells the story of Point72 to possible new recruits and attempts to convince the audience to apply for a job.
-
Students & Recent Grads
This part of the primary audience is focused on career development opportunities and growth potential early on in their careers.
-
Experienced Professional Links
This part of the primary audience also seek career opportunities, but due to being more advanced, have specific areas of interest to learn more about.
Perspectives
Point72’s blog serves as a further proof of culture and successful work. I recommended using a more enticing term then “blog” however. I initially proposed “Industry Insights” but after some additional brainstorming with the client, we landed on “Perspectives”.
Browse Open Roles
This page is the heart of the site and where return on investment occurs. Wherever the primary audience comes from or browses, the goal is to get them to this page and apply for an open position.
Footer
Due to the amount of relevant information on the site, I proposed the footer as a “mega footer” as an alternate mode of navigation. Most of the links are available in the header navigation but rearranged slightly to better cater to returning users.
Information Architecture
Why You Should Join Our Team
Since most of the content deck had been provided to me, the main wireframe focus was on how the recruitment page would function.
Design Direction
During the design discovery phase, I closely collaborated with the client to understand their vision and requirements
Initial Requests:
- They expressed a strong affinity for the "Trade Gothic" font, which they wanted to retain as the headline font for the website.
- They desired a color scheme that included nods to their corporate blue but not an overwhelming presence of blue throughout.
- They expressed interest in incorporating greens and gray tones to enhance the visual appeal.
- They placed a strong emphasis on the homepage, highlighting the importance of a design that not only broke away from traditional corporate aesthetics but also captivated users with its vibrant and engaging visual appeal.
With these valuable insights, I embarked on the design journey, determined to create a captivating and distinct user experience that exceeded their expectations.
Typography
With the headline font locked in place, I experimented with multiple options for the body copy. Throughout the process, I experimented with both serif and sans-serif fonts, ultimately settling on Lora, a serif font. I found that Lora not only aesthetically complemented Trade Gothic, but also ensured excellent legibility in both small and large sizes, as well as for varying amounts of text.
Color Palette
To create a balanced color palette that wouldn't overpower the user, I opted for a combination of white, light grays, and darker grays with subtle blue tints as the default colors. In order to introduce visual interest and variation, I incorporated Point72's corporate blue and a complementary green as accents and for darker backgrounds. This approach allowed for a harmonious blend of colors without overwhelming the overall design.
Pattern Play
While I was satisfied with the chosen colors and typography, I believed that the design needed an extra touch to truly stand out. Rather than relying solely on plain background colors, I decided to incorporate subtle textures throughout the website to add depth and bring the design to life. This approach added a captivating visual element that enhanced the overall aesthetic and made the design more engaging.
Homepage Design
The design of the homepage is the heart of Point72’s redesign. I collaborated closely with the client, engaging in extensive workshops and iterations to capture the effect they were seeking.
Results:
- The final design was intentionally crafted to evoke emotions and convey key messages such as trust, luxury, and a premium experience.
- While the header navigation and footer cater to the functional aspects of user experience, the homepage was designed to serve as a powerful visual and emotional representation of the brand.
- It aimed to captivate visitors, leaving a lasting impression while showcasing the exceptional value that Point72 has to offer.
Premium Feel with an Animated Background
Towards the end of the project, I got help from a colleague who helped bring the final design some additional movement with background animation. The below video shows the final, live design of the homepage:
Creating a Design System
After completing the overall design direction, I got to work creating a few additional pages for reference and a collection of reusable components to be used throughout the site.
Since I was also the developer of Point72, the system I created in Figma isn’t as detailed as some of my later projects. However, I still found it to be important to include documentation that broke up the different components, navigation and elements that could be referred back to by myself and the client.
Development & Implementation
Upon approval of the design system, I implemented it using atomic design principles to code the front-end of the website.
Integrating the code with the backend, I leveraged WordPress to create a dynamic content model system, enabling the client to craft unique pages with multiple component options in line with the design system.
To ensure a user-friendly experience, I optimized the UI in WordPress. I provided comprehensive training to the client, empowering them to utilize the system effectively, and together, we seamlessly stitched the website into its final form.