Wells Fargo · Conversational AI · Six months
My scope: Interface exploration, interaction architecture, motion system, and implementation guidance.
I helped shape Fargo’s initial conversational interface while the product itself was still taking form. Over six months, I developed its visual direction, established a layered interaction model, and created the unified motion system that connected the experience.
Starting with a familiar mental model
We began without a defined interface or detailed business requirements. An external consultancy worked alongside our team to connect the emerging experience to business objectives and manage the timeline.
Given the lead on early interface exploration, I started with a question: What would it feel like to text Wells Fargo and receive personalized help whenever you needed it?
That familiar interaction became the foundation for the mobile experience. I explored three visual directions, testing color, shapes, on-screen objects, and motion. Leadership selected the direction that became the basis of the production interface.
Turning an interface into an experience architecture
As we mapped scenarios and edge cases, the requirements grew more complex. Questions such as “How does someone revisit their conversation history?” revealed needs beyond the visible conversation.
I designed a pull-and-snap interaction for navigating back through the conversation and a drawer that revealed another layer beneath it. These decisions established a spatial architecture: layers with distinct purposes, connected through predictable movement.
The interface now had a structure that could accommodate a more complete product experience.
Designing motion as a connected system
Once the major interactions were understood, I could see how their movements needed to relate. I looked across the experience for shared patterns and organized them into a unified motion language.
Gravity became a guiding principle for how far and how quickly elements moved. Timing, distance, and layering worked together to give the experience a coherent sense of space.
I also used research to challenge a proposal to animate response text word by word. The cognitive-load concerns supported my argument for keeping financial information easy to read and understand. Motion needed to help people follow the experience without making them work harder to absorb its content.
Protecting the design through delivery
Daily and weekly reviews brought input from leadership, the broader team, and legal, risk, and compliance partners. I worked through changing constraints and competing opinions while maintaining a consistent direction for the experience.
I codified the motion system and produced delivery specifications approved by our head executive. I then worked closely with developers through implementation on iOS and Android, continuing to advocate for design fidelity where platform differences emerged, particularly on Android.
What the work led to:
The selected visual direction became the foundation of Fargo’s production experience.
The motion system was documented and carried through native implementation.
Wells Fargo filed a patent application for the animated graphical interface in 2023, on which I am named.
Following the project, I was promoted to Lead Product Designer and moved to Design Systems, where I refined and extended the unified motion system across the broader banking app.