Lead UX Designer | interactive investor | 2026

Global Site Search Redesign

Transforming search from a broken utility into a core navigation tool 

Problem

Users expected to use the search to navigate the platform, but the existing experience was limited, inconsistent, and failed to return relevant results—driving frustration and support dependency.

Solution

Designed and delivered a scalable global search experience aligned with user intent, industry standards, and content architecture.

Impact

Improved content discoverability, reduced user frustration, and enabled users to self-serve critical information.

Overview

The public website receives thousands of views a day, acting as the primary entry point for Investments (stock, shares and ETF) pages.

Challenge

User Problem

Users expected the search to

• Help them navigate the site

• Answer key financial questions

• Surface relevant products and content

Business Problem

• Poor search → lost engagement + trust

• Increased customer support costs

• Reduced ability to surface key products/content

Constraint

This was initially low priority compared to revenue-driving features.

Discovery

Behavioural Insight

Users were already using search as a global navigation tool. Even though it wasn’t designed for that.



• No support for natural language queries

• Poor handling of partial or ambiguous inputs

• No connection to content (articles, help, fees)

• Inconsistent naming (SEO vs user language)

Approach

Lean, Outcome-Focused Delivery

We aligned with Product and Engineering to

• Run a focused design sprint

• Define a clear MVP scope

• Prioritise impact over completeness


Solution

Validated

• Ability to find key information

• Clarity of results

• Alignment with user expectations

Delivery & Iteration

Initial rollout monitored performance and engagement.

Iteration

• Introduced AI-driven result ranking

• Improved relevance for imperfect and intent-based queries

Business

• Reduced dependency on support channels

• Increased engagement with content

• Established scalable search foundation

Learnings

• Search is a core navigation system, not a feature

• Designing for intent significantly improves usability

• Behaviour change requires visibility and education

• High-impact improvements can be delivered through lean execution

Reflection

This project transformed search from a limited tool into a core platform capability, better aligned with user needs and business goals.

It reinforced the importance of

• Designing for real user behaviour

• Balancing constraints with impact

• Delivering measurable improvements at scale