CASE STUDY
Redesigning options trading for a seamless, Mobile-first trading experience
Overview
Product: CIBC Investor’s Edge - Direct Investing platform
Scope: Investors of the direct investing platform had to use an outdated trading experience with limited functionality when trading options
Role: Senior Content Designer
Impact areas: Higher trading volume, lower operational costs to contact center, improved options trading comprehension, cross-team alignment
Problem statement: How might I place an options trade quickly and across multiple trading proficiencies, while getting informational content and strategies for options trading
Project Stakeholders
Design team
Interaction and visual designer
Content designer
Design researcher
Design manager
Partners and Stakeholders
Product owner
Business line partners
Engineers
Quality engineers
Compliance and legal partners
The problem
Create a digital acquisition and onboarding experience that offers speed and clarity whilst meeting young investors where they are.
The existing options trading flow:
Didn’t allow users with advanced options trading needs to use multi-leg options and options chain in an intuitive flow
Was not designed to be mobile-first
Had no informational content to educate clients on various options trading strategies and their impact
The business, product owners and product design teams decided on a complete overhaul of the user journey, complete with a new landing page, updated functionality on single and multi-leg options and on the introduction of options chain in mobile.
USERS
The challenge was catering to the sometimes conflicting needs of our biggest customer segments:
35-45 year old self-directed investors who want clear, concise content experiences that are friendly and conversational and also explain options trading to beginner investors
55-65 year old seasoned investors who are change-averse and prefer formal, professional language and tone and who are willing to invest using complex options trading strategies
The final decision
Create an options trading landing page that serves as an entry point for different options trading flows:
Single-leg options, multi-leg options and the use of options chains, and,
As a hub of informational and educational content for beginner investors on options trading strategies and use of platform
To revamp the single-leg options flow on desktop and create a mobile-first experience
To create a responsive multi-leg options flow for both desktop and mobile
To create a responsive mobile-first options chain flow
My Approach
Content Strategy
Content audit to look at the current options trading flow to see:
Content inventory and style
Key messages and values in use
Brand voice
Identify and analyze audiences
Research competitors, to identify overlaps and differentiators
Collaborate with multiple stakeholders for feedback, especially product owners and business lines, given the technical complexity of options trading
Partner with UX researchers, interactive and visual designers, product owners, to create a set of new, mobile-first, options trading experiences
Initial Audit
I started my project by collaborating with UX researchers into key areas of content strategy:
Investor’s Edge user personas - 30-45 year olds, 45-55 year olds, 55-65 year olds - and their needs and expectations
The competitor landscape - big 5 bank self-directed trading platforms, independent investment platforms like Wealthsimple and Questrade
Upgrade to Investor Edge’s voice
Based on the initial audit and key findings, we recognized the need to update the language on the options trading flows to reflect our brand values and our audience.
Recurring voice attributes (competitors)
Conversational
Friendly
Professional
Confident
Less frequent voice attributes
● Passive
● Fun
● Technical
Our brand voice:
● Conversational
● Knowledgeable
● Helpful
● Active
Ultimately, based on our customer and competitor analysis, I determined our voice should:
● Be helpful and simplify experiences but never talk down to our customers
● Be conversational and friendly, but maintain the professionalism that customers expect from
a banking partner
● Be active but never overpowering or overenthusiastic
Brand voice:
Conversational
Knowledgeable
Helpful
Active
Ultimately, based on our customer and competitor analysis, I determined our voice should:
● Be helpful and simplify experiences but never talk down to our customers
● Be conversational and friendly, but maintain the professionalism that customers expect from
a banking partner
● Be active but never overpowering or overenthusiastic
less frequent voice attributes (competitors)
Passive
Fun
Technical
DISCOVER
Competitor analysis
WealthSimple, Questrade, Revolut, Coinbase, TD Invest, CIBC Investor’s Edge
Content audit
Existing account open copy decks
RBC Digital Style Guide
Existing content inventory
Existing user research and metrics
Existing personas and research
Platform data
Existing business and operational metrics
DISCOVER
My Content Strategy
Simplify account onboarding
Focus on high utility copy, minimal education to reduce cognitive load.
Example:
When choosing an ETF, surface minimal data points needed to make an informed decision and keep copy low to reduce cognitive load
Use human-centered language
Translate financial/legal terms into digestible, human language without losing compliance.
Example:
“Beneficial ownership information” to “Personal information you’d like to share with companies in which you’ve invested”
Design for decision moments
Focus on high-impact points:
Choose an account
Choose an investment
Answer regulatory questions
Multiple copy iterations that balance the themes and value propositions that appeal to sub-groups of target users while also experimenting with a brand voice that pushes past the established norm.
Speaking to target sub-group of users who want full control over their investing but aren’t confident on where to begin
Version 1:
Real control is peace of mind.
Invest effortlessly on your terms. We’re here to make it easy.One tap, instant portfolio. Ready-made ETF bundles . Skip the guesswork. Just start.
Consistency > timing the market.
Set it once and let it go. Hit play or pause anytime. You’re always in control, even during dips.
Free trades? You got ‘em.
50 on North American equities. No commission fees to kill the vibes.
Transfer. Invest. Done. In real time.
Move money instantly. Catch market dips. Never miss a market opportunity.
Version 2:
You make the moves. We support the rest.
Always at your pace, always on your terms. Smart, simple ETFs.
Low cost, transparent. Build your own playlist of top stocks.
Set it once, let it go.
You’re always in control, hit play or pause anytime.
50 free trades = 50 smart moves
Try new moves, learn and grow. Your first 50 trades are on us.
Real time money moves = no delays.
Move money instantly. Market dips don’t wait. Neither should you.
Version 3:
Your money. Your moves.
Always on your terms. Invest your way.
Pick your playlists of stocks and ETFs you love.
Smart, simple investing.
Set it once and let it run. Pause, edit or hit play at any time.
Free trades where it counts.
Get 50 free trades on North American stocks and ETFs, on top of unlimited trades on select ETFs.
Deposit and invest. In real time.
Move money instantly. Never miss an opportunity.
Speaking to target sub-group of users who want Tax Free Investing
Version 1:
Hello, tax perks.
Reach your investment goals faster.Less taxes = big goals, faster.
TFSA, FHSA, RRSP —not just letters; they’re glow-ups for your goals.
Transfer and contribute. Instantly.
Move money in seconds. Contribute, pause, whenever. No missed deadlines, no over-contributing.
Free trades = more gains.
Your first 50 trades are on us. Keep more of your money invested.
Auto-invest, no stress.
Chill money moves on autopilot. Grow your TFSA, FHSA, RRSP without overthinking it.
Version 2:
Smart money starter pack.
Tax-smart investing made easy. Invest tax-free.
Did you know? Your RRSP, TFSA, and FHSA can hold stocks and ETFs —not just savings. Grow your money without extra tax slowing you down.
Less taxes = big goals, faster.
Use tax perks to save for a home, retirement, or anything bigger. Your investments do the heavy lifting.
Keep more invested.
Because your gains aren’t taxed the same way, more of your money stays in the market, compounding over time.
Auto-invest, no stress.
Invest on autopilot. Let your portfolio grow steadily, without overthinking it.
Version 3:
Tax benefits for big dreams.
Invest with your TFSA, FHSA, and RRSP — tax benefits built in. Gains on gains (on gains).
That’s compounding at work. Your money could earn, then those earnings earn, see the pattern?
Invest tax-free.
With TFSA or FHSA, your money grows tax-free. With RRSP, you get a break today and pay when you withdraw. Either way, you keep more.
Reach big goals.
Save for a home, retirement, or anything bigger — your investments do the heavy lifting.
Auto-invest with benefits.
Set recurring buys once and let the market do the work. Check in when you want.
Result
A fresh, clear, human-centered brand voice resonant with our target user group and targeted sub-groups with distinctive financial attitudes and value propositions.
WORK
Balancing brand identity with customer resonance
A fresh, new brand voice, but how far to go against RBC’s established brand identity?
Copy iterations grouped by themes and value propositions that appeal to the distinct user attributes of target sub-groups of users.
Here I created multiple copy iterations that balance the themes and value propositions most important to sub-groups of target users while also experimenting with multiple brand voices.
The result: a fresh, clear, human-centered brand voice resonant with our target user group and targeted sub-groups with distinctive financial attitudes and value propositions.
A fresh, new brand voice, but how far to go against RBC’s established brand identity?
The challenge: Balancing evolving brand guidelines and market positioning against the established brand identity and tone of voice of RBC.
The approach: Copy iterations grouped by themes and value propositions that appeal to the distinct user attributes of target sub-groups of users.
The result: a fresh, clear, human-centered brand voice resonant with our target user group and targeted sub-groups with distinctive financial attitudes and value propositions.
Simplifying complex information
Beneficial ownership what? Majority shareholder who?
A scenario that doesn’t apply to over 80% of target users. Mired in complexity. An uphill battle with compliance, legal and risk.
Fighting the good fight to simplify complex information to get to the heart of what’s important for our users:
Improving understanding of information presented through human-centered language;
Easy to choose the right option for their situation;
Reducing time on page and to continue to the next screen
The result: Simplifying user comprehension of complex information feeds into the primary goal for this flow — open an account in seconds
Creating positive friction
Balancing the requirements and obligations under OSC audit with the financial responsibility towards users to improve our recommendations to customers.
Investment recommendations that are relevant and responsible for user goals and financial situations vs. requirements and obligations of OSC audit.
The result: purposely dramatic copy to invoke market uncertainty, shareholder loss and evoke an emotional reaction and get an accurate picture of emotional risk tolerance.
Introducing positive friction in order of options from risk tolerant to risk averse to encourage customers to pause before selection and to reduce primacy bias..
Interested in having me speak?
Investment recommendations that are relevant and responsible for user goals and financial situations vs. requirements and obligations of OSC audit.
Descriptive and contextualized options.
Sequence from risk tolerant to risk averse to reduce primacy effect and to increase friction.
Result
Push users to think through and choose an option instead of the first as default and get an accurate picture of emotional risk tolerance.