The Challenge

Aegon’s mortgage self-service platform was outdated and failed to meet customer expectations. It was standing in the way of realizing a dream home instead of enabling it. It failed to deliver a trustworthy and intuitive experience. Some of the key issues were:

• Complex navigation that made it difficult for users to access essential features.
• Inconsistent and cluttered UI across different mortgage products that led to confusion.
• Limited self-service capabilities that forced customers to rely heavily on customer support or external financial advisors.
• Outdated design patterns that were no longer aligned with modern usability standards.
• Lack of clear feature prioritization meant that the experience did not align with actual customer needs.

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To address these challenges, we set out to create a streamlined, intuitive, and empowering self-service experience that increased customer trust while reducing reliance on support.

The Approach‍

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User-driven Feature Selection

‍To ensure we were solving real user pain points, we leveraged the KANO framework to guide prioritization of features. We collaborated with customers in workshops, co-creating and sketching potential features to understand their expectations. Features were classified into must-haves, performance enhancers, and delighters. By validating assumptions with mock-ups and user input, we ensured the prioritization aligned with customer expectations.

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Competitive Analysis

Understanding the broader mortgage landscape was essential to positioning Aegon’s platform as a leader in self-service. We conducted a detailed competitive analysis, analyzing successful patterns in the industry. By mapping feature gaps, we created opportunities for differentiation and ensured that Aegon’s platform would not compare negatively with others.‍

Design Implementation

With a renewed digital brand and design system as our foundation, we translated insights into a cohesive and scalable platform. We developed high-fidelity prototypes, integrating customer feedback at every stage to refine usability and accessibility. Ensuring that the system could evolve, creating a scalable framework that would allow for future feature expansions while preserving the core experience.

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The Goals

Based on insights gathered from user studies, stakeholder interviews, and desk research, we established clear goals for redesigning the mortgage experience.

Increase customer loyalty with the Aegon brand

Offer a digital service that delivers on Aegon’s brand promise, reinforcing trust and reliability.

Be more relevant

Ensure a stronger connection between the platform and customers' broader financial goals.

Increase product understanding and awareness

Improve clarity around mortgage products and key financial events, enabling customers to make informed decisions.
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Building the Solution

With a strong vision and framework in place, we translated our research into a simplified, user-centric experience that empowered customers to take control of their mortgages.‍

Creating Layers

To prevent users from feeling overwhelmed by financial jargon and dense information, we introduced a layered structure that organized content around three key topics:

• The loan – Core details, including interest rates, payments, and history.
• Your house – Information about the home and its financial impact.
• Servicing your mortgage – Tools for making adjustments, renewals, and other key changes.

Each topic was given dedicated space to keep related information structured and easy to navigate. New or temporary topics, such as construction loans or interest rate changes, followed the same pattern, ensuring consistency and clarity.‍

Self-Service Tools

Since managing a mortgage over time is the primary interaction customers have with it, we designed dedicated self-service tools to facilitate key mortgage events. These tools allowed users to adjust payments and repayment schedules independently, providing real-time insights into the pros and cons of any changes they made within the online tool. Customers could also manage major mortgage changes without needing direct assistance, increasing their sense of control over their finances. This transition from a reactive support model to a proactive self-service approach not only improved efficiency but also strengthened customer confidence in managing their mortgages.

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My Role

As Lead Designer, I was responsible for shaping and driving the transformation of Aegon’s self-service mortgage experience. From the outset, I structured the project’s approach, ensuring a solid foundation for research and execution. I facilitated interviews, workshops, and research sessions with both stakeholders and customers, gathering critical insights that informed our strategy. Collaborating closely with UX researchers, I led the process of turning raw data into meaningful insights and applied the KANO prioritization model to ensure that every design decision aligned with real customer needs. Throughout the project, I worked on early prototypes, established the visual design direction, and guided the team to deliver a final product that aligned with Aegon’s broader vision.

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