Virgin Money and Octopus Money Direct

Leading UX through a new pension service and a weekend rebrand

Role: UX Design Team Lead, Team: UX/UI designers, a user researcher and a content designer
Outputs: End-to-end pension drawdown journeys, rebranded web, online banking and app experiences, a separation blueprint

This was my second time working with Virgin Money. This time, I led a talented team of UX/UI designers, a user researcher and a content designer across two very different challenges: designing a completely new pension drawdown service, and then rebranding the entire service when the business was acquired.

Pension withdrawal information presented on desktop, tablet and mobile.

Pension drawdown journey screens on laptop and tablet devices

A pension you couldn’t draw down online

Virgin Money’s pensions and investments had long taken a digital-first, self-service approach, including hands-off options like the Navigator pension. But customers couldn’t draw down from their pension online, which left them facing complex decisions alone as they approached retirement.

Back to pencil and paper

Using a user-centred approach, we designed, prototyped and tested key drawdown journeys with both existing and prospective customers.

Testing revealed that many customers didn’t fully understand their drawdown options, particularly the tax implications over the course of retirement. So we went back to pencil and paper to rethink that part of the journey. When we next put it in front of users, their understanding and confidence had improved significantly. Many told us they were keen to see the journeys built so they could use them.

We also designed a range of tools to help customers make decisions about their pension withdrawals.

Hand written pension drawdown journey content stuck to brown paper in sections to imagine how we might describe online pension drawdown to users

The UX team gather around paper, pens and print outs to work collaboratively on pension drawdown journeys

Pension withdrawal illustration on a laptop device alongside pension management steps on tablet and mobile — In the redesigned pension drawdown journeys, customers could utilise a range of tools to help their decision making around pension withdrawals.

Then the business changed hands

Virgin Money Investments and Pensions was acquired by Octopus Money Direct, at almost exactly the point our drawdown work was complete. We were able to hand over a fully designed and tested end-to-end experience, from opening a pension or transferring in, through to drawing down in retirement and understanding what happens to any remaining funds.

Investment information and self-serve pension and investment products in the new Octopus Money branding

One weekend to relaunch the service

Re-branded information about funds shown in a PDF and print format

The acquisition meant rebranding every digital touchpoint to Octopus Money Direct, from the public website to the secure online banking service and mobile app, with minimal disruption to customers. The service would go offline for a single planned weekend, then relaunch under the new brand.

The online banking service had long, complex journeys, and the rebrand needed to happen quickly, alongside the public website and supporting assets like fund performance PDFs. To keep distributed teams consistent, I created a clear rebranding guide showing how colours, fonts and styles should change, and how to handle exceptions.

This freed up time to update imagery and charts, and to make sure the new brand met WCAG AA accessibility guidelines across every page.

Rebranding the web and online banking

Rebranding the mobile app at speed

A sequence of screens from the re-branded Octopus Money Direct mobile app

The mobile app needed rebranding quickly, without changing or losing any functionality. Working closely with another UX designer and the lead app developer, I worked through the challenges of applying the new colour palette to the existing designs, as well as adjusting text sizes and replacing icons.

Mapping the weekend that changed everything

Blueprint of the weekend when the rebrand to Octopus Money Direct took place

To manage the changeover, I created a blueprint of the separation period, mapping exactly when and where customers would encounter the new brand across every digital channel. It highlighted potential friction points and shaped the support plan for the customer care team.

Behind the scenes, I worked with the Project Manager to scope, estimate and plan the work, and managed the resourcing. I kept the Chief Customer and Commercial Officer regularly updated, so she could be confident we had the right team in place and every key touchpoint was covered.

Support hub content shown on laptop and tablet devices helps customers who might need extra assistance with online banking

The service relaunched as Octopus Money Direct after a single planned weekend shutdown, with minimal disruption to customers. We defined first-quarter KPIs to monitor and optimise the rebrand after launch, and identified longer-term opportunities, including bringing the pension drawdown journeys to life.

“Sam joined my team as Design Lead, guiding a remote multi-disciplinary design team through a complex initiative… Her ability to instil confidence when liaising with senior stakeholders and SMEs was invaluable, enabling the team to deliver outstanding work.”

Stuart Pill, Principal Designer, Virgin Money

What the team said

“She’s calm in a way that steadies everyone else. Stakeholders love her because she listens, asks the right questions and keeps projects moving without fuss.”

Nick Green, Senior Content Designer, Virgin Money

“Sam was a strong advocate for research. She consistently took part in user research sessions, supported note taking and contributed to analysis with real enthusiasm.”

Xing Yang, Senior User Researcher, Virgin Money and Octopus Money Direct