Senior Product Designer
- Discovery user research
- Information architecture
- UX design
- Design system
- User testing
Depending on the type and scale of an investment, the Australian Government requires overseas individuals and organisations to make a formal proposal.
This process is complex, making it difficult for applicants to determine their eligibility, understand submission requirements and to prepare a proposal.
A primary objective of the project was to develop a digital experience that assists users through the process and reduce the number of ineligible proposals to alleviate the administrative burden on Treasury Department staff.
I conducted a series of interviews with foreign investors, homeowners, advocates, and industry experts to gain a deeper understanding of the challenges investors face when submitting proposals and the types of support needed to navigate this complex process.
To ensure the design outcomes aligned with each group’s needs, I developed a series of mindset-based personas. I favour mindsets over traditional personas as this approach acknowledges that an individual’s behaviour can shift and avoids reinforcing stereotypes.
Foreign investors encounter a range of challenges - they must navigate unfamiliar laws, assess their investment options and understand the roles and responsibilities of various government agencies often whilst negotiating another language or working through a third party.
A key insight was that users sought structured guidance throughout the process and required clear waypoints on the website, especially when they may be directed to another government agency.
To address this, I designed several interactive components including a questionnaires to guide users to relevant content and interactive checklists to quickly pre-evaluate proposals, reducing the amount of ineligible applications. I facilitated several rounds of user testing to validate ideas and refine the design.
The final outcome was a dedicated website for foreign investors, designed to guide users through the investment process and consolidate resources onto a single platform.
We delivered a comprehensive research report documenting our findings and approach, along with mindset-based personas, design principles, an information architecture, design system, and high-fidelity designs.
