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The client
Equilaw is a team of specialist solicitors helping people navigate the legal processes involved in releasing equity from their home. They work with both homeowners and their Independent Financial Advisors (IFAs), managing documents, deadlines and safeguarding more vulnerable clients throughout the process.
The challenge
Equilaw had two portals in need of attention:
- A customer portal for homeowners - prototyped by their in-house tech team but never properly UX-designed or launched
- An IFA portal with over 1,500 active users - live, but with known usability improvements needed
They came to us to bring UX and UI expertise to both.
Our approach
We started with the customer portal, as the priority. Our UX designer Alexa worked through the existing prototype with the Equilaw team - interviewing stakeholders, testing the build, and building a clear picture of what homeowners needed from the experience.
From there, Alexa mapped out a new interface design in Figma: one that made it immediately clear to homeowners where their case stood, what actions were required from them, and any deadlines they needed to be aware of. Designer Emma then brought it to branded life, packaging up the final designs with full functionality notes, specs and system design assets for Equilaw's in-house dev team to build.
With the customer portal complete, we turned our attention to the IFA portal. Working from data on what IFAs had already requested, we designed a new interface giving each advisor a clear overview of all their active client cases in a single view - with detailed case breakdowns and automatic flagging of anything causing delays. Same process: designs handed over to Will and the in-house team for implementation.
The outcome
"Bravand are a fantastic company to work with. They work really hard to understand exactly what we're looking for, but they also challenge our thinking. You only realise how little you know about UX design when you work with these guys. The level of detail they go into is incredible - even down to the wording we use in our questionnaire. No stone was left unturned. The end result has been the launch of a market leading customer portal experience, not only giving us a competitive advantage, but more importantly it has given our customers a world class online user experience."
- Max Hayden, MD at Equilaw
Need a UX partner for your in-house dev team?
This is one of our favourite ways to work - bringing design thinking and UX expertise to teams who have the development capability but want dedicated design support. Talk to us about how it could work for you.
