Led TransUnion's End-to-End Design of a D2C Protection App

Drove UX strategy and hands-on execution to rebuild TransUnion’s identity app for 12M+ active users.
Goals
1. Evaluate and improve app specific features and content using UX Heuristics and testing
2. Explore ways to drive engagement, specifically on the dashboard and within the app’s core feature
3. Analyze what contents would end up as “Lift and shift” due to time
4. Simplify and modernize the UI
5. Build efficiently: utilize Material Design and React Native Paper
Contributions:
* Explored and implemented strategies to boost app engagement, focusing on the product’s key feature: 'My Action Plan"
* Increased product features visibility, usability, clarified and increased product value
* Simplified and modernized UI and content
* Built scalable and reusable mobile UI components leveraging Material Design
* Led and facilitated conversations between dev, product, and UX team - refining requirements and delivering solutions
Contributions:
* Explored and implemented strategies to boost app engagement, focusing on the product’s key feature: 'My Action Plan"
* Increased product features visibility, usability, clarified and increased product value
* Simplified and modernized UI and content
* Built scalable and reusable mobile UI components leveraging Material Design
* Led and facilitated conversations between dev, product, and UX team - refining requirements and delivering solutions
Role: Lead Product Designer
The new consumer identity protection app integrates recently acquired identity protection features with TransUnion’s credit offerings and serves a user base of over 12 million. This initiative advanced TransUnion’s strategic goals to expand into credit-adjacent markets and modernize its technology stack.
Role: Lead Product Designer
Timeline: 6 month contract
Key Contributions:
1. Increased average session duration by 18% and CTA engagement by 30% through targeted engagement strategies.
2. Reduced user errors by 35% by simplifying the UI, reconfiguring information architecture, and improving usability.
3. Shortened navigation time to key feature by 2 clicks or 40%.
4. Built scalable and reusable mobile UI components leveraging Material Design.
5. Led and facilitated conversations between dev, product, and UX team - refining requirements and delivering solutions.
* Based off usability testing, product launch scheduled for Oct 25’
Led the end-to-end redesign of a direct-to-consumer and white-label app that integrated newly acquired identity protection features with TransUnion’s credit offerings. This initiative supported TransUnion’s broader strategic goals of expanding into credit-adjacent markets and modernizing its technology stack
Role: Lead/Solo Product Designer
Timeline: 6 month contract
Contributions:
* Explored and implemented strategies to boost app engagement, focusing on the product’s key feature: 'My Action Plan"
* Increased product features visibility, usability, clarified and increased product value
* Simplified and modernized UI and content
* Built scalable and reusable mobile UI components leveraging Material Design
* Led and facilitated conversations between dev, product, and UX team - refining requirements and delivering solutions
Goals
1. Evaluate and improve app specific features and content using UX Heuristics and testing
2. Explore ways to drive engagement, specifically on the dashboard and within the app’s core feature
3. Analyze what contents would end up as “Lift and shift” due to time
4. Simplify and modernize the UI
5. Build efficiently: utilize Material Design and React Native Paper
Contributions:
* Explored and implemented strategies to boost app engagement, focusing on the product’s key feature: 'My Action Plan"
* Increased product features visibility, usability, clarified and increased product value
* Simplified and modernized UI and content
* Built scalable and reusable mobile UI components leveraging Material Design
* Led and facilitated conversations between dev, product, and UX team - refining requirements and delivering solutions
Contributions:
* Explored and implemented strategies to boost app engagement, focusing on the product’s key feature: 'My Action Plan"
* Increased product features visibility, usability, clarified and increased product value
* Simplified and modernized UI and content
* Built scalable and reusable mobile UI components leveraging Material Design
* Led and facilitated conversations between dev, product, and UX team - refining requirements and delivering solutions
Role: Lead Product Designer
Led the end-to-end redesign of a direct-to-consumer and white-label app that integrated newly acquired identity protection features with TransUnion’s credit offerings. This initiative supported TransUnion’s broader strategic goals of expanding into credit-adjacent markets and modernizing its technology stack
Role: Lead/Solo Product Designer
Timeline: 6 month contract
Contributions:
* Explored and implemented strategies to boost app engagement, focusing on the product’s key feature: 'My Action Plan"
* Increased product features visibility, usability, clarified and increased product value
* Simplified and modernized UI and content
* Built scalable and reusable mobile UI components leveraging Material Design
* Led and facilitated conversations between dev, product, and UX team - refining requirements and delivering solutions
Contributions:
* Explored and implemented strategies to boost app engagement, focusing on the product’s key feature: 'My Action Plan"
* Increased product features visibility, usability, clarified and increased product value
* Simplified and modernized UI and content
* Built scalable and reusable mobile UI components leveraging Material Design
* Led and facilitated conversations between dev, product, and UX team - refining requirements and delivering solutions
Goals
1. Evaluate and improve app specific features and content using UX Heuristics and testing
2. Explore ways to drive engagement, specifically on the dashboard and within the app’s core feature
3. Analyze what contents would end up as “Lift and shift” due to time
4. Simplify and modernize the UI
5. Build efficiently: utilize Material Design and React Native Paper
Contributions:
* Explored and implemented strategies to boost app engagement, focusing on the product’s key feature: 'My Action Plan"
* Increased product features visibility, usability, clarified and increased product value
* Simplified and modernized UI and content
* Built scalable and reusable mobile UI components leveraging Material Design
* Led and facilitated conversations between dev, product, and UX team - refining requirements and delivering solutions
Contributions:
* Explored and implemented strategies to boost app engagement, focusing on the product’s key feature: 'My Action Plan"
* Increased product features visibility, usability, clarified and increased product value
* Simplified and modernized UI and content
* Built scalable and reusable mobile UI components leveraging Material Design
* Led and facilitated conversations between dev, product, and UX team - refining requirements and delivering solutions
Role: Lead Product Designer
The new consumer identity protection app integrates recently acquired identity protection features with TransUnion’s credit offerings and serves a user base of over 12 million. This initiative advanced TransUnion’s strategic goals to expand into credit-adjacent markets and modernize its technology stack.
Goals
1. Evaluate and improve app specific features and content using UX Heuristics and testing
2. Explore ways to drive engagement, specifically on the dashboard and within the app’s core feature
3. Analyze what contents would end up as “Lift and shift” due to time
4. Simplify and modernize the UI
5. Build efficiently: utilize Material Design and React Native Paper
Contributions:
* Explored and implemented strategies to boost app engagement, focusing on the product’s key feature: 'My Action Plan"
* Increased product features visibility, usability, clarified and increased product value
* Simplified and modernized UI and content
* Built scalable and reusable mobile UI components leveraging Material Design
* Led and facilitated conversations between dev, product, and UX team - refining requirements and delivering solutions
Contributions:
* Explored and implemented strategies to boost app engagement, focusing on the product’s key feature: 'My Action Plan"
* Increased product features visibility, usability, clarified and increased product value
* Simplified and modernized UI and content
* Built scalable and reusable mobile UI components leveraging Material Design
* Led and facilitated conversations between dev, product, and UX team - refining requirements and delivering solutions
Role: Lead Product Designer
Role: Lead/Solo Product Designer
Timeline: 6 month contract
Key Contributions:
1. Increased average session duration by 18% and CTA engagement by 30% through targeted engagement strategies.
2. Reduced user errors by 35% by simplifying the UI, reconfiguring information architecture, and improving usability.
3. Shortened navigation time to key feature by 2 clicks or 40%.
4. Built scalable and reusable mobile UI components leveraging Material Design.
5. Led and facilitated conversations between dev, product, and UX team - refining requirements and delivering solutions.
* Based off usability testing, product launch scheduled for Oct 25’
Led the end-to-end redesign of a direct-to-consumer and white-label app that integrated newly acquired identity protection features with TransUnion’s credit offerings. This initiative supported TransUnion’s broader strategic goals of expanding into credit-adjacent markets and modernizing its technology stack
Role: Lead/Solo Product Designer
Timeline: 6 month contract
Contributions:
* Explored and implemented strategies to boost app engagement, focusing on the product’s key feature: 'My Action Plan"
* Increased product features visibility, usability, clarified and increased product value
* Simplified and modernized UI and content
* Built scalable and reusable mobile UI components leveraging Material Design
* Led and facilitated conversations between dev, product, and UX team - refining requirements and delivering solutions
Goals
1. Evaluate and improve app specific features and content using UX Heuristics and testing
2. Explore ways to drive engagement, specifically on the dashboard and within the app’s core feature
3. Analyze what contents would end up as “Lift and shift” due to time
4. Simplify and modernize the UI
5. Build efficiently: utilize Material Design and React Native Paper
Contributions:
* Explored and implemented strategies to boost app engagement, focusing on the product’s key feature: 'My Action Plan"
* Increased product features visibility, usability, clarified and increased product value
* Simplified and modernized UI and content
* Built scalable and reusable mobile UI components leveraging Material Design
* Led and facilitated conversations between dev, product, and UX team - refining requirements and delivering solutions
Contributions:
* Explored and implemented strategies to boost app engagement, focusing on the product’s key feature: 'My Action Plan"
* Increased product features visibility, usability, clarified and increased product value
* Simplified and modernized UI and content
* Built scalable and reusable mobile UI components leveraging Material Design
* Led and facilitated conversations between dev, product, and UX team - refining requirements and delivering solutions
Role: Lead Product Designer
Led the end-to-end redesign of a direct-to-consumer and white-label app that integrated newly acquired identity protection features with TransUnion’s credit offerings. This initiative supported TransUnion’s broader strategic goals of expanding into credit-adjacent markets and modernizing its technology stack
Role: Lead/Solo Product Designer
Timeline: 6 month contract
Contributions:
* Explored and implemented strategies to boost app engagement, focusing on the product’s key feature: 'My Action Plan"
* Increased product features visibility, usability, clarified and increased product value
* Simplified and modernized UI and content
* Built scalable and reusable mobile UI components leveraging Material Design
* Led and facilitated conversations between dev, product, and UX team - refining requirements and delivering solutions
Contributions:
* Explored and implemented strategies to boost app engagement, focusing on the product’s key feature: 'My Action Plan"
* Increased product features visibility, usability, clarified and increased product value
* Simplified and modernized UI and content
* Built scalable and reusable mobile UI components leveraging Material Design
* Led and facilitated conversations between dev, product, and UX team - refining requirements and delivering solutions
Goals
1. Evaluate and improve app specific features and content using UX Heuristics and testing
2. Explore ways to drive engagement, specifically on the dashboard and within the app’s core feature
3. Analyze what contents would end up as “Lift and shift” due to time
4. Simplify and modernize the UI
5. Build efficiently: utilize Material Design and React Native Paper
Contributions:
* Explored and implemented strategies to boost app engagement, focusing on the product’s key feature: 'My Action Plan"
* Increased product features visibility, usability, clarified and increased product value
* Simplified and modernized UI and content
* Built scalable and reusable mobile UI components leveraging Material Design
* Led and facilitated conversations between dev, product, and UX team - refining requirements and delivering solutions
Contributions:
* Explored and implemented strategies to boost app engagement, focusing on the product’s key feature: 'My Action Plan"
* Increased product features visibility, usability, clarified and increased product value
* Simplified and modernized UI and content
* Built scalable and reusable mobile UI components leveraging Material Design
* Led and facilitated conversations between dev, product, and UX team - refining requirements and delivering solutions
Role: Lead Product Designer
The new consumer identity protection app integrates recently acquired identity protection features with TransUnion’s credit offerings and serves a user base of over 12 million. This initiative advanced TransUnion’s strategic goals to expand into credit-adjacent markets and modernize its technology stack.
Goals
1. Evaluate and improve app specific features and content using UX Heuristics and testing
2. Explore ways to drive engagement, specifically on the dashboard and within the app’s core feature
3. Analyze what contents would end up as “Lift and shift” due to time
4. Simplify and modernize the UI
5. Build efficiently: utilize Material Design and React Native Paper
Contributions:
* Explored and implemented strategies to boost app engagement, focusing on the product’s key feature: 'My Action Plan"
* Increased product features visibility, usability, clarified and increased product value
* Simplified and modernized UI and content
* Built scalable and reusable mobile UI components leveraging Material Design
* Led and facilitated conversations between dev, product, and UX team - refining requirements and delivering solutions
Contributions:
* Explored and implemented strategies to boost app engagement, focusing on the product’s key feature: 'My Action Plan"
* Increased product features visibility, usability, clarified and increased product value
* Simplified and modernized UI and content
* Built scalable and reusable mobile UI components leveraging Material Design
* Led and facilitated conversations between dev, product, and UX team - refining requirements and delivering solutions
Role: Lead Product Designer
Contributions:
* Explored and implemented strategies to boost app engagement, focusing on the product’s key feature: 'My Action Plan"
* Increased product features visibility, usability, clarified and increased product value
* Simplified and modernized UI and content
* Built scalable and reusable mobile UI components leveraging Material Design
* Led and facilitated conversations between dev, product, and UX team - refining requirements and delivering solutions
Led the end-to-end redesign of a direct-to-consumer and white-label app that integrated newly acquired identity protection features with TransUnion’s credit offerings. This initiative supported TransUnion’s broader strategic goals of expanding into credit-adjacent markets and modernizing its technology stack
Role: Lead/Solo Product Designer
Timeline: 6 month contract
Contributions:
* Explored and implemented strategies to boost app engagement, focusing on the product’s key feature: 'My Action Plan"
* Increased product features visibility, usability, clarified and increased product value
* Simplified and modernized UI and content
* Built scalable and reusable mobile UI components leveraging Material Design
* Led and facilitated conversations between dev, product, and UX team - refining requirements and delivering solutions
Goals
1. Evaluate and improve app specific features and content using UX Heuristics and testing
2. Explore ways to drive engagement, specifically on the dashboard and within the app’s core feature
3. Analyze what contents would end up as “Lift and shift” due to time
4. Simplify and modernize the UI
5. Build efficiently: utilize Material Design and React Native Paper
Contributions:
* Explored and implemented strategies to boost app engagement, focusing on the product’s key feature: 'My Action Plan"
* Increased product features visibility, usability, clarified and increased product value
* Simplified and modernized UI and content
* Built scalable and reusable mobile UI components leveraging Material Design
* Led and facilitated conversations between dev, product, and UX team - refining requirements and delivering solutions
Contributions:
* Explored and implemented strategies to boost app engagement, focusing on the product’s key feature: 'My Action Plan"
* Increased product features visibility, usability, clarified and increased product value
* Simplified and modernized UI and content
* Built scalable and reusable mobile UI components leveraging Material Design
* Led and facilitated conversations between dev, product, and UX team - refining requirements and delivering solutions
Role: Lead Product Designer
Role: Lead Product Designer
Timeline: 6 month contract
Key Contributions:
1. Increased average session duration by 18% and CTA engagement by 30% through targeted engagement strategies.
2. Reduced user errors by 35% by simplifying the UI, reconfiguring information architecture, and improving usability.
3. Shortened navigation time to key feature by 2 clicks or 40%.
4. Built scalable and reusable mobile UI components leveraging Material Design
5. Led and facilitated conversations between dev, product, and UX team - refining requirements and delivering solutions
* Based off usability testing, product launch scheduled for Oct 25’
Contributions:
* Explored and implemented strategies to boost app engagement, focusing on the product’s key feature: 'My Action Plan"
* Increased product features visibility, usability, clarified and increased product value
* Simplified and modernized UI and content
* Built scalable and reusable mobile UI components leveraging Material Design
* Led and facilitated conversations between dev, product, and UX team - refining requirements and delivering solutions
Goals
1. Evaluate and improve app specific features and content using UX Heuristics and testing
2. Explore ways to drive engagement, specifically on the dashboard and within the app’s core feature
3. Analyze what contents would end up as “Lift and shift” due to time
4. Simplify and modernize the UI
5. Build efficiently: utilize Material Design and React Native Paper
Contributions:
* Explored and implemented strategies to boost app engagement, focusing on the product’s key feature: 'My Action Plan"
* Increased product features visibility, usability, clarified and increased product value
* Simplified and modernized UI and content
* Built scalable and reusable mobile UI components leveraging Material Design
* Led and facilitated conversations between dev, product, and UX team - refining requirements and delivering solutions
Contributions:
* Explored and implemented strategies to boost app engagement, focusing on the product’s key feature: 'My Action Plan"
* Increased product features visibility, usability, clarified and increased product value
* Simplified and modernized UI and content
* Built scalable and reusable mobile UI components leveraging Material Design
* Led and facilitated conversations between dev, product, and UX team - refining requirements and delivering solutions
Role: Lead Product Designer
Table of Contents
Project Timeline & Obstacles
●
UX Highlights
●
Documentation
●
L&C Reviews
●
QA Work
●
Final Prototype
●
My Takeaways
●
My Takeaways

My Project Timeline

Led design, reviews, handoffs, and QA across 7 core sections of the app.
Collaborated with and reported to Michael Ellis (UX Manager), Robert Giova (Lead Designer), and Sal Bolanos (UX Director) for strategic alignment and feedback.
Business Background
Through the audit, we could clearly understand what features and content needed to be built or transferred to CVD.
Integrate and Iterate
TransUnion — best known as a credit bureau and data solutions provider — acquired the identity protection company Sontiq. Over the following years, cross-functional teams in product, design, and technology collaborated to integrate and iterate Sontiq’s core features and value within TransUnion’s product ecosystem.
Backend Technology Modernization
An effort to replace and update programming languages, frameworks, databases, APIs, infrastructure, with the goals of reducxing tech debt, faster development, reliability, and increased security.
Findings: Additional content will need to be transferred and improved from the old UI to the new.
* Activation and login page functionality + content
* Identity protection long form content
* Notification modifications on the credit report page
Project Obstacles
Through the audit, we could clearly understand what features and content needed to be built or transferred to CVD.
Designing in real-time with development
Developers were onboarded before myself and were essentially waiting on the app's designs. This led to fragmented and unconventional handoffs, along with frequent changes as development progressed.
--->
Frequently met with developers to review early-stage page structures based on material design, so they could start building while I finalized additional details.
--->
Created structured data tables to document all design changes and new page additions.
--->
Proactively communicated at early stages regarding screens that were subject to change, providing explanations, and setting expectations.
Unclear and unaligned product requirements
Stories written by the app's PM lacked clarity and sufficient detail, which slowed our progress by requiring frequent discussions to reassess each feature and led to increased rework.
--->
Poorly defined requirements were logged and addressed during weekly sync meetings.
--->
Set up working sessions to co-write, refine requirements, and adjust timelines together.
Unfinished sister product
The app was expected to mirror the functionality and content of its sister web product; however, since the web product was still under development, maintaining consistency was challenging.
--->
Leaned on modular builds that could shift layout and content if needed.
--->
Focused on the product goals and user flows versus exact matches.
Findings: Additional content will need to be transferred and improved from the old UI to the new.
* Activation and login page functionality + content
* Identity protection long form content
* Notification modifications on the credit report page
UX Highlights
Given the scale of the project, I’ve broken down my contributions into key UX highlights
My Action Plan - considered to be the products key feature
What is the Action Plan?
This feature scans the dark web for personal data leaks, generates a security score, and recommends actions to enhance online safety.
Through the audit, we could clearly understand what features and content needed to be built or transferred to CVD.
Findings: Additional content will need to be transferred and improved from the old UI to the new.
* Activation and login page functionality + content
* Identity protection long form content
* Notification modifications on the credit report page
Including Experian, Credit Sesame, & Equifax
This is some text inside of a div block.
Original Flow
New Flow
✧˖ ° Deeper Breakdown  °˖✧
Explorations & Iterations
Through the audit, we could clearly understand what features and content needed to be built or transferred to CVD.
Device VPN & Device Scan
What are they?
Tools that protect mobile devices from potential hackers and malware
What informed the final UX changes?

* UX heurstic analysis done by myself
* A/B testing wireframes
Findings: Additional content will need to be transferred and improved from the old UI to the new.
* Activation and login page functionality + content
* Identity protection long form content
* Notification modifications on the credit report page
Original Designs
A/B Testing Wireframes
✧˖ ° New Widget Designs  °˖✧
Product Bundle Designing
Varying product bundles across partners create challenges in maintaining consistent layouts and responsive design

Progress Touchpoints

Led regular design syncs: twice-weekly with the design team, weekly with developers, and monthly milestone reviews—sharing prototypes and gathering feedback

Documentation

Created comprehensive documentation—including spec sheets, componenet maps, wireflows, and sitemaps—to communicate design decisions and streamline developer handoff

Legal & Compliance Reviews

Produced presentations that explained proposed UX changes, supported by detailed notes, before-and-after visuals, interactive prototypes, and wireflows
QA Work
I tracked missing or incorrect implementations during bi-weekly sprint reviews while development was ongoing

Completed Prototype

Interact with the app's key screens and interactions in the prototype below
Stakeholder Reviews
Aligning with product, dev, and legal and compliance.
Discussed with product and dev the different dashboard modification options, and slimmed down changes to only what was necessary for the initial release. Keeping more robust designs in mind for the future releases.
Reviewed how the new credit lock widget should look and be built with developers.
Conducted multiple legal review rounds: discussed current and new designs/content/functionality. By the end, we had come to agreement on most changes, but still had legal pushback on the new credit lock functionality. Because of time constraints, we needed to fall back on an outdated modal process (see below).
Two Step - Original Credit Lock Functionality
Modal forces user into two steps to complete their action‍
This action is easily undone or changed, so a modal is unnecessary
One Step - New Proposed Credit Lock Functionality ‍‍
Toast notification replaces modal to indicate action is complete
Unable to get approved by Legal and Compliance‍

Hi-Fi UI Development

Once our teams were aligned on changes, I worked on the final UI.
Activation Page Redesign
Original
Redesigned
Credit Lock redesigned into a widget
* Brand new capabilities to lock and unlock credit from dashboard
* A responsive component use both on the dashboard and identity protection page if different sizes.
Credit Report: adding 3B
Identity protection page + content
My takeaways
Run more frequent usability tests
We did run usability testing for a few component design options, however, we missed an opportunity to run comparative usability tests on competing dashboard designs. I advocated for a simpler layout that prioritized clarity, even if it meant hiding some contextual details, while my direct higher-up insisted on more information-dense designs. Testing could have provided valuable external feedback to guide our decision.
Embrace evolving requirements
Even if it makes my eye twitch, staying open to new information and ideas (being aware of the sunken cost fallacy) can help evolve project requirements—even late in the process.
Facilitate more meaningful discussion in larger team settings
In smaller weekly syncs (with myself and 1–2 other team members), we openly discussed, debated, and made decisions. However, in larger team meetings, discussion often felt limited or stuck—which made it harder to maintain alignment across the full UX team.
Setting QA Expectations
During the first sprint review, the PO and lead developer confirmed they wanted both functional and visual feedback. However, many screens didn’t match the mockups, with significant UI discrepancies. Thorough QA would have taken hours, so instead, I shared general feedback on the visual issues and emphasized the need for closer alignment with the designs. I handed it back to the team, explaining it wasn’t yet ready for detailed QA.
Take hella good notes
Track in writing, where and why decisions were made after meetings. I found that being able to answer someone's question about why,