Project background

UBS Neo is a multi asset trading platform that provides access to UBS products and services to clients across their Investment Bank, Wealth Management and Asset Management businesses.

The platform acts as a gateway to UBS people, content, research, trading ideas, pricing and execution capabilities, providing more than 1.8m users across the bank a seamless cross-asset and cross-functional experience, all in one place.

Originally developed using Flex technology, an ambitious programme was undertaken to migrate the entire platform to a responsive HTML framework that would continue to support both legacy applications and future products and services. At the same time, the look and feel of the front end user interface (UI) would be updated and aligned with the latest brand guidelines.

Our role

We initially joined the team to lead the visual design for the platform's Client Relationship Management (CRM) services, covering both tactical updates to existing Flex applications and the design of new strategic HTML products.

We were then invited to lead the visual design output across the wider team, being responsible for maintaining the consistency and quality of design work across both the core platform framework and specialist business areas, from research and content to sales execution and post-trade reporting.

As well as hands on design work for the global Neo framework, we led the execution of a new design system for use with all complex applications within the Investment Bank and worked with the other design teams in Retail and Wealth Management to define the wider digital design guidelines for the whole of UBS.

What we delivered

• A new complex application design system and UI component definitions, increasing consistency and improving design efficiency across the Neo platform.

• Updates and improvements to the core platform framework UI, applying the new design system to increase production speed and reduce development costs.

• Updated guidelines for icon use and creation, reducing the number of redundant assets, and aligning the new icon set with the updated brand direction.

• Guidance for consistent styling of third-party business intelligence and data visualisation tools such as Tableau and QlikView.

• UI design templates and specifications for data-driven CRM applications.

• Weekly design surgeries, encouraging team collaboration and re-use of design components, patterns and styles.

• Design feedback, guidance and artistic direction across multiple business work streams.

• Insight and recommendations to UBS management on design team growth and resource allocation.

Outcome

UBS Neo continues to win industry recognition and awards, which during our time leading the visual design output included:

• Best Multi-Asset Class Platform, 2019 & 2018 Profit & Loss Digital FX Awards
• Most Innovative Bank Platform, 2020 Global Finance FX Awards
• Most Innovative Bank e-FX Platform, 2018 FX Week e-FX Awards

Unfortunately, due to the confidential and sensitive nature of the data and systems we designed for we're unable to share detailed visual examples here. Please get in touch if you'd like to hear more about this particular project.

Alternatively, you can read more about how we helped Barclays, B&Q, Hotels.com and Vodafone.