The challenge
The challenge
Create an app that helps clients manage their investments and view performance.
Create an app that helps clients manage their investments and view performance.
St. James’s Place needed a client app that made managing investments feel simpler, clearer and more immediate — without weakening the adviser relationship that defines their service. The experience had to feel accessible and reassuring, helping clients understand their money, monitor progress and know what to do next. We shaped the product through continuous insight, moving from early research into agile ideation, concept development and rapid prototypes tested with clients and advisers.
As the product matured, each journey was refined against brand and accessibility standards. Validated patterns and new components were documented in the design system, giving future teams a consistent foundation to build from. The result was a calmer digital companion for financial decisions: one that gives clients confidence between adviser conversations, surfaces the right information at the right moment and keeps the wider service experience feeling joined up.
St. James’s Place needed a client app that made managing investments feel simpler, clearer and more immediate — without weakening the adviser relationship that defines their service. The experience had to feel accessible and reassuring, helping clients understand their money, monitor progress and know what to do next. We shaped the product through continuous insight, moving from early research into agile ideation, concept development and rapid prototypes tested with clients and advisers.
As the product matured, each journey was refined against brand and accessibility standards. Validated patterns and new components were documented in the design system, giving future teams a consistent foundation to build from. The result was a calmer digital companion for financial decisions: one that gives clients confidence between adviser conversations, surfaces the right information at the right moment and keeps the wider service experience feeling joined up.
A key focus was making complex investment data clear for first-time users, while still giving experienced investors the detail they need.
A key focus was making complex investment data clear for first-time users, while still giving experienced investors the detail they need.
A key focus was making complex investment data clear for first-time users, while still giving experienced investors the detail they need.
Design system
Design system
Creating and maintaining a scalable design system
Creating and maintaining a scalable design system
I helped create and maintain the app’s design system in Figma, giving designers reusable foundations to create consistent experiences and developers a clear reference for building them. The system followed atomic design principles, starting with core materials that combined into elements, patterns and reusable components.
As visuals were tested and approved, new components and guidance were added to the system, giving the team a shared source of truth for future product work.
I helped create and maintain the app’s design system in Figma, giving designers reusable foundations to create consistent experiences and developers a clear reference for building them. The system followed atomic design principles, starting with core materials that combined into elements, patterns and reusable components.
As visuals were tested and approved, new components and guidance were added to the system, giving the team a shared source of truth for future product work.
Visual language
Visual language
Design an icon system that gives the app a clearer, more restrained visual language.
Design an icon system that gives the app a clearer, more restrained visual language.
I created a set of icons for the app that aligned to the overall brand guidelines, giving the interface a clearer visual language without adding unnecessary decoration. Each icon started in Illustrator, where I explored weight, shape and proportion against the wider St. James’s Place identity before preparing production-ready assets for the product team.
Once refined, the icons were added to our linked style guide and documented in the design system with usage notes, naming conventions and accessibility considerations.
The overall approach was deliberately restrained: icon use stayed minimal, every symbol had a clear purpose, and understanding was checked with users so the system supported the experience rather than competing with it.
I created a set of icons for the app that aligned to the overall brand guidelines, giving the interface a clearer visual language without adding unnecessary decoration. Each icon started in Illustrator, where I explored weight, shape and proportion against the wider St. James’s Place identity before preparing production-ready assets for the product team.
Once refined, the icons were added to our linked style guide and documented in the design system with usage notes, naming conventions and accessibility considerations.
The overall approach was deliberately restrained: icon use stayed minimal, every symbol had a clear purpose, and understanding was checked with users so the system supported the experience rather than competing with it.
