Content Design at BMO
New tone guidelines
The existing brand guidelines were locked in a PDF that was circulated around by individual emails.
It also didn’t have tone guidelines, which forced Content Designers to invest time into making the same decisions repeatedly.
I stepped up with a framework to help the bank modulate its tone for a range of situations, from deposits to credit card applications.
Clarifying confusing marketing
The bank’s marketing department had launched a new promotion to encourage the use and adoption of Air Miles credit cards, having just acquired Air Miles the year before.
I clarified the offer, the value proposition, and the educational content to guide customers toward signing up.
Improving conversions
The company wanted to stop all credit card signups for 60 days while it relaunched the card.
The Marketing department wanted to put an “under construction sign” on the product page, so I gave them a counter-proposal.
We pitched them on turning that into a more exciting wait list for the new credit card, helping them preserve their signups for the year.
Accurate information architecture
One of the bank’s product design teams needed to build a multi-product signup flow up to four people at once.
I loaned my efforts to a neighbouring team to help them convey the value of the products with a new structure and clarity.
Simplifying complex financial products
I’ve spent a lot of time building clear mental models for confusing financial products.
Writing samples include:
- Mortgage renewal tips (Canada)
- What is a secured credit card? (U.S.)
- Credit Builder Program page (coming soon)
Documenting enterprise CMS know-how
The company put a lot of resources behind its content management system, but very few people understood how to operate it. It suffered from many bugs, too.
I took it upon myself to learn how it worked through practice. Then I documented my mental models and bug workarounds for the whole UX team’s reference and onboarding programs.
Other contributions
Award for excellence
A few months into joining, the managers put me forward for an award for excellence and culture (the “Lucille Award”).
Accessibility content library
I helped save $7,000 per month in translation costs by creating a bilingual library of alt text, and ARIA labels, and CTAs.
Agile process improvements
I worked with the Scrum Master and QA Lead to introduce some process improvements, especially where the company’s CMS platform presented complications.
View my other work history
Content and Product Design at WestJet
I joined WestJet to expand my UX thinking in a new industry—and in a product space where mobile and web apps need to work in tandem with real-world services.
Content Design at BMO
The Bank of Montreal brought me on to help them build content design system standards, processes for their enterprise CMS, and a fresh perspective on their UX practice.
Content Design at Meta
Meta recruited me to improve the internal tools that power sales and support operations for tens of thousands of employees pushing advertising solutions every month.
Content Design at Shopify
I helped relaunch Shopify's logistics and fulfillment service alongside program managers and product marketers, simplifying logistics and delivery for growing merchants.
Creator project: Employed Historian
I started a solo project during the pandemic to show liberal arts grads how to explore and build careers. This included a 100-page website, an ebook, and (almost) a podcast.
SEO and content marketing at aha insurance
I grew the company's organic search traffic from 1K to 60K per month, and helped to create one of the most cost-effective paid search campaigns in the industry.
Want to work together? Let's chat.
Feel free to send an email if you'd like to chat.
I love talking shop over a cup of coffee, even if you just want a second opinion on something.
Coffee's on me.