Case Study – Security Center

Overview

The Wells Fargo Security Center project was an opportunity to redefine how millions of customers interact with digital security. As Principal Product Designer, I led a cross-functional team through research, strategy, and execution to create one of the app's first fully native experiences—bringing clarity, trust, and usability to a critical part of the customer journey.

Responsibilities

As Senior Manager of the Security & Authentication team, I partnered with product managers and developers across multiple business lines, serving as the principal designer and player-coach. I guided junior product designers, content strategists, and visual designers from early definition through launch, ensuring design quality, cohesion, and strategic alignment.

Uniting Scattered Features - Key services like alerts, email communications, and digital statements were fragmented across multiple business lines. Consolidating them into one unified experience required rethinking the entire information architecture of the app.

Customer Mindset - Research showed a split in perceived responsibility: roughly 40% of customers said security was the bank's job, 40% said it was theirs, and the rest saw it as shared. This guided our tone and messaging.

Siloed Ownership - Each line of business had its own product and service owners. Building alignment demanded steady communication, cross-team design reviews, and shared goals.

Technical Limitations - The app’s hybrid codebase mixed native and web components. We optimized for a fully native experience and partnered closely with engineering to connect into legacy systems.

Research

I collaborated with product managers and UX researchers to explore how customers engaged with existing security features. We planned a six-month research initiative focused on gaps, pain points, and opportunities.

Over a two-month period, we worked with 12 users who captured ideas in personal journals. They reflected on the necessity, usefulness, and longevity of their account security across every touchpoint—branch, ATM, phone, mobile app, and website.

This approach surfaced key insights, including cases where customers requested online features that already existed but were difficult to locate, such as security alerts. These findings directly informed design decisions and highlighted opportunities to improve discoverability and user confidence.

1. Frame the problem

We aligned stakeholders on the core security narrative, knowing we’d iterate heavily before landing on the final structure.
2. Wireframe the experience

We created low-fidelity flows that emphasized content hierarchy and information architecture over visual polish.
3. Test early and often

Using paper prototypes and interactive mocks, we treated customers like co-designers, looking for the “diamond in the rough.”
4. Refine and ship

As we learned, we folded in new brand components and technical constraints, moving toward a coherent, native design system.

App Store Rating

4.9★

Up from 3.5 within three months.

Feature Adoption

+39%

Increase in key security feature usage.

Customer Reach

60M

Customers with access to improved security.

Fraud Calls

−17%

Decrease in fraud-related call volume.

Native First – App store reviews showed that customers were eager for a fully native experience. The Security Center was one of several features leading that shift.

Iteration Wins – We knew we’d be wrong before we were right, so we iterated quickly to find mistakes early and often.

Navigation Matters – Positioning the Security Center as a core feature, rather than an add-on, gave us room to rethink the app’s navigation across iOS and Android.

Wells Fargo

Security Center

Overview

Responsibilities

What We Learned

Research

Process

1. Frame the problem

2. Wireframe the experience

3. Test early and often

4. Refine and ship

Impact

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