Redesigned the EBC benefits enrollment experience, simplifying complex plan information into a clearer, more confident decision-making journey for employees and administrators.
EBC's platform supported benefits communication and enrollment, but dense information architecture and unclear workflows created friction during high-stakes enrollment periods. The redesign focused on improving plan comparison clarity, streamlining enrollment steps, and reducing administrative overhead — creating a more intuitive, trustworthy experience during a critical annual moment.
Impact
What drove our strategy...
Goals
- Redesign a secure file sharing platform to improve clarity, trust, and ease of use in high-sensitivity workflows
- Simplify document upload, access control, and sharing without compromising security standards
- Reduce administrative friction for managing permissions and file visibility
- Improve confidence for both senders and recipients when handling sensitive information
User Frustrations
- File permissions and access rules felt unclear or difficult to manage
- Upload and sharing workflows required too many steps or lacked feedback
- Users were unsure whether files were delivered, viewed, or accessed securely
- Navigation made it difficult to locate or manage previously shared documents
- Security requirements added friction without always explaining intent
Personas
- Administrators – Responsible for uploading and distributing sensitive files to clients or internal teams. They needed clear permission controls, visibility into activity, and confidence that documents were secure.
- External Recipients – Clients or partners receiving secure documents. They needed a straightforward, trustworthy experience without unnecessary barriers.
Where do we start?
Current Experience Crit
I conducted a focused heuristic evaluation to identify high-impact usability gaps and structural inconsistencies. Findings were prioritized by severity and user impact.
A screen-level critique further surfaced issues in hierarchy, clarity, and interaction patterns, creating a clear foundation for the redesign.
User Flows
As part of our early discovery process, we created this user flow to map how administrators configure secure vaults and permissions while recipients authenticate and access files, ensuring we understood the full sharing and audit lifecycle before moving into final designs.
What did we
learn?
Trust is shaped by clarity, not just encryption
Secure file sharing is inherently high stakes. Users are handling sensitive documents and expect both protection and transparency.
We learned that technical security alone does not create confidence. Clear permission states, visible access rules, and predictable system behavior reduce anxiety more effectively than hidden safeguards.
When users understood exactly who could access a file and what would happen next, hesitation decreased.
Permission complexity must be visible, not buried
The platform already supported granular access controls, but those controls were not surfaced clearly.
Important actions were hidden within layered navigation, and permission states were difficult to interpret at a glance. The system felt more complex than it actually was.
By restructuring information hierarchy and elevating key access decisions, we reduced cognitive load without removing capability.
Operational efficiency is a function of user confidence
Support volume was driven less by system failure and more by uncertainty.
When users were unsure whether a document had been shared correctly or whether access rules were configured properly, they reached out for reassurance.
As clarity improved, confidence improved. As confidence improved, support requests decreased.
Improving the experience for end users directly reduced administrative overhead.
V1 – Initial Redesign Direction
The first version of the redesign centered on strengthening the product's visual and structural foundation. Priorities included:
- Modernizing the aesthetic to better reflect brand maturity
- Standardizing layouts and interaction patterns
- Streamlining onboarding and early-use workflows
- Improving clarity across technically complex features
First Time User
Open Files
Select Files
Confirm Details
Final Designs
Interactive prototype coming soon, but here are some final visual designs for now.
Dashboard Overview
Usage & Access Rights Report
Vault Management & Access Controls
Mobile – File Selection Flow
Access Rights Donut Chart View
Active Users Report
Measuring and Validating Designs
We evaluated the redesign through support trends, stakeholder feedback, and observed workflow behavior following release.
The primary goal was to reduce friction in secure document sharing while maintaining strict access controls and compliance requirements.
Post-release indicators included:
These shifts suggested that clearer permission states, improved hierarchy, and more transparent system feedback were reducing uncertainty.
Research Feedback
Post-launch feedback from administrators and end users reinforced a consistent theme: clarity improved trust.
Users reported feeling more confident sharing sensitive documents when permission states were explicit and visible. Administrators noted fewer repetitive inquiries about whether documents had been delivered or accessed correctly.
The improvements were not driven by new functionality. They were driven by clearer communication of existing capability.
Results and Reflection
The most meaningful gains came from restructuring complexity rather than expanding feature depth.
By elevating permission visibility, clarifying sharing states, and simplifying navigation, the platform became easier to trust and easier to operate.
This project reinforced a principle that applies broadly to enterprise systems: security alone does not create confidence. Confidence comes from transparency.
When users understand what the system is doing and why, operational efficiency improves naturally.
The redesign strengthened the platform's usability without compromising its security foundation. It demonstrated that in high-sensitivity environments, clarity is not cosmetic. It is structural.
