This project reinforced the importance of making operational complexity visible before trying to simplify it. By pairing firsthand research with journey mapping and service blueprinting, we turned a fragmented servicing environment into a clear product vision — one that reduced cognitive load, improved associate confidence, and created a stronger foundation for enterprise-scale customer servicing.
Nathan Ellis
LEAD PRODUCT DESIGNER
This project reinforced the importance of making operational complexity visible before trying to simplify it. By pairing firsthand research with journey mapping and service blueprinting, we turned a fragmented servicing environment into a clear product vision — one that reduced cognitive load, improved associate confidence, and created a stronger foundation for enterprise-scale customer servicing.
Nathan Ellis
LEAD PRODUCT DESIGNER
Fifth Third Forward focused on modernizing the account servicing experience for the associates who support millions of customers across branch and contact center channels. The work began with a fragmented current state: legacy tools, scattered customer data, manual verification steps, and inconsistent processes made simple servicing requests harder than they needed to be. The goal was to create a unified, modern digital experience that brought customer context, workflows, alerts, and servicing actions into one connected platform.
Fifth Third Forward focused on modernizing the account servicing experience for the associates who support millions of customers across branch and contact center channels. The work began with a fragmented current state: legacy tools, scattered customer data, manual verification steps, and inconsistent processes made simple servicing requests harder than they needed to be. The goal was to create a unified, modern digital experience that brought customer context, workflows, alerts, and servicing actions into one connected platform.
Research revealed the friction
We went where the work happens. Through branch observations, call center shadowing, stakeholder interviews, and product workshops, I helped uncover how associates actually moved through servicing tasks in real time. The research made the problem tangible: associates were navigating multiple systems, re-entering information, searching across buried records, relying on tribal knowledge, and managing compliance risk without a single reliable view of the customer.
The six critical gaps — system fragmentation, disconnected data, tribal knowledge, slow context access, training complexity, and no unified view — became the foundation for the future-state product strategy.
Research revealed the friction
We went where the work happens. Through branch observations, call center shadowing, stakeholder interviews, and product workshops, I helped uncover how associates actually moved through servicing tasks in real time. The research made the problem tangible: associates were navigating multiple systems, re-entering information, searching across buried records, relying on tribal knowledge, and managing compliance risk without a single reliable view of the customer.
The six critical gaps — system fragmentation, disconnected data, tribal knowledge, slow context access, training complexity, and no unified view — became the foundation for the future-state product strategy.
From broken journeys to a unified platform
The associate journey and service blueprint showed that the issue was bigger than screen-level usability. Every layer of the service ecosystem added effort: customer intake, search, verification, account review, alert checks, documentation, supporting systems, and compliance gates. By mapping those breakdowns end to end, we aligned product, engineering, operations, compliance, and leadership around a clearer modernization path.
The final solution centered on a unified customer account servicing platform with a consolidated customer profile, progressive disclosure, integrated fraud and alert visibility, and scalable design-system patterns. The result was a more focused experience that helped associates find context faster, reduce duplicated work, and service customers with greater confidence.
From broken journeys to a unified platform
The associate journey and service blueprint showed that the issue was bigger than screen-level usability. Every layer of the service ecosystem added effort: customer intake, search, verification, account review, alert checks, documentation, supporting systems, and compliance gates. By mapping those breakdowns end to end, we aligned product, engineering, operations, compliance, and leadership around a clearer modernization path.
The final solution centered on a unified customer account servicing platform with a consolidated customer profile, progressive disclosure, integrated fraud and alert visibility, and scalable design-system patterns. The result was a more focused experience that helped associates find context faster, reduce duplicated work, and service customers with greater confidence.
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Latest projects
Support
UI UX Design
Information Architecture
Greater Community Development
Cincinnati-based community development corporation dedicated to building equitable, sustainable neighborhoods through real estate investments.
Web Design
Conversational AI Design
UI UX Design
Future-State Platform Design Initiative
Intuitive Business Banking experience integrating AI-driven insights and intelligent automation.
