Client: RBC Royal Bank
Role: Senior User Experience Designer
Focus: Mobile UX • Accessibility • Banking Innovation • Cross-Platform Consistency
Project Overview
During the evolution of mobile banking, RBC aimed to create a native BlackBerry 10 (BB10) mobile experience that delivered secure, on-the-go access to key banking functions, including account management, bill payments, transfers, and personal finance tracking.
The goal was to reimagine mobile banking for BB10 devices, ensuring feature parity with RBC’s iOS and Android apps while leveraging BB10’s native gestures, UI patterns, and security model.
I was responsible for UX design and accessibility alignment, collaborating with RBC’s mobile product team to ensure the app met enterprise usability, performance, and compliance standards.
The Challenge
- New Platform Constraints: BB10 had a distinct design language, gesture system, and hardware interactions (e.g., swipe-based navigation).
- Cross-Platform Parity: The app needed to align visually and functionally with RBC’s existing iOS and Android experiences without losing BB10’s native feel.
- Security & Compliance: All flows had to meet bank-grade security protocols, while maintaining intuitive usability.
- Limited Screen Real Estate: Required compact information hierarchies and simplified navigation patterns.
- Accessibility & Consistency: Needed to uphold RBC’s emerging accessibility standards even on a new mobile OS.
My role was to lead user experience and interaction design, ensuring that the BB10 app not only met functional goals but also delivered a frictionless, modern, and brand-consistent experience.
My Role & Contributions
1. User Research & Requirements Definition
- Collaborated with RBC’s digital banking stakeholders, mobile product leads, and compliance officers to identify core mobile use cases: check balances, pay bills, transfer funds, and view transactions.
- Conducted user flow reviews and competitive benchmarking against leading financial apps on BB10 and iOS.
- Defined user personas and mobile journey scenarios specific to business banking, retail banking, and traveling users.
2. Experience & Interaction Design
- Designed gesture-based interactions native to BB10 — leveraging edge-swipe navigation, peek-and-pop previews, and contextual menus.
- Reimagined key workflows (login, transfers, payments) for one-hand usability and minimal input effort.
- Created responsive layout grids and visual hierarchies optimized for smaller BB10 screen dimensions.
- Designed task-based dashboards allowing quick access to frequently used features (balances, payees, transfers).
- Ensured consistency in visual language, tone, and iconography with RBC’s broader design system.
3. Accessibility & Compliance Integration
- Applied early versions of WCAG and AODA accessibility principles to mobile interactions: contrast ratios, tap target sizing, and screen-reader label design.
- Conducted usability tests with assistive technologies available on BB10 devices.
- Partnered with RBC’s compliance and legal teams to ensure privacy, authentication, and consent flows adhered to financial regulations.
4. Collaboration & Agile Delivery
- Worked within an Agile framework alongside developers, QA testers, and product owners to validate each sprint’s UI build.
- Created interactive prototypes and design documentation in Axure and Sketch for development hand-off.
- Participated in accessibility QA and design reviews, ensuring parity across BB10, iOS, and Android implementations.
Outcomes & Impact
- Successfully launched RBC’s first native BB10 mobile banking app with strong adoption among business and retail customers.
- Achieved feature and accessibility parity with RBC’s other mobile platforms.
- Reduced task time for bill payments and transfers by 30% compared to the legacy mobile web experience.
- Set a precedent for cross-platform design consistency used in subsequent RBC mobile releases.
- Earned internal recognition for innovation in secure mobile banking design.
Reflection
This project demonstrated my ability to translate enterprise banking functionality into intuitive, platform-specific mobile experiences.
By aligning RBC’s digital design principles with BB10’s native interface conventions, I helped the bank extend its mobile leadership, delivering a secure, accessible, and elegant banking experience that felt uniquely at home on the platform.
