Freddie Mac CreditSmart Redesign
Redesigning the web experience showcasing Freddie Mac’s premier educational resource for renters & homebuyers, CreditSmart
Context
CreditSmart is a free educational program that teaches financial literacy skills, such as building credit, managing debt, and preparing for homeownership. It empowers individuals to make informed financial decisions, helping them achieve stability and access opportunities like renting or securing a mortgage. The main products are two distinct courses: Essentials and Homebuyer U.
The Problem
The main issue lies in how CreditSmart is presented on its landing and detail pages; users often fail to recognize it as an educational course, leading to confusion and high drop-off rates before they fully explore what the program has to offer them.
How might we… effectively convey CreditSmart as an educational platform to keep users engaged?
My Observations and Approach
I started by outlining my initial observations and approach to understanding the challenges with CreditSmart’s web experience. On paper, I identified the core problem: users struggle to recognize CreditSmart as an educational platform, often leaving the site before engaging with the content.
I also considered what users are looking to gain from the platform and brainstormed potential improvements to better communicate its value and retain user interest. This initial exercise set the foundation for a deeper exploration of the problem and informed my research and design recommendations.
Site Breakdown
Heuristic markup, annotations, sitemap, and analyzing current user flows:
insight 1
insight 2
insight 3
Some insights discovered through comparing Fannie Mae’s HomeView with Freddie Mac’s CreditSmart:
User Experience: HomeView has a straightforward and easy-to-follow user experience, making it simple for new users to understand the site's purpose from the beginning. In contrast, CreditSmart's navigation is more cluttered, which could confuse first-time users.
Content Engagement: HomeView effectively presents course content and FAQs, encouraging user engagement. CreditSmart could improve by making its content more easily understandable and ensuring users know what they are signing up for
Call to Action & Testimonials: HomeView uses a clear call to action and testimonials from actual users, building trust. CreditSmart could benefit from a clearer call to action and by featuring testimonials from users of their programs rather than partners.
Competitor Based Research
Design Recommendations
The overarching goal of these design changes is to make it easier for the user to find specific informational content in Freddy Mac multifamily web experience. Most of my recommendations focus on enhancing usability and accessibility by:
consolidating key information
standardizing design components
rethinking content organization
These changes address the pain points users face, enabling them to find the resources they need with ease. By adopting a more intuitive and visually structured approach, Freddie Mac can offer a modernized platform that aligns with user expectations while improving engagement and decision-making for its audience.