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Designing a notification system for mortgage brokers

Role

Product Designer

Product Designer

UX Designer

UX Designer

UX Researcher

UX Researcher

Prompt Designer

Prompt Designer

Tools

Tools

Figma

Figma

Figjam

Figjam

Timeline

Timeline

3 weeks

3 weeks

Team

Team

Rocket Pro

Rocket Pro

PROBLEM

Mortgage brokers are missing critical updates due to a high volume of unprioritized emails.

There are 58 different emails that can be sent out to a single broker. That amount of emails plus how many clients a broker can have is a major contributor as to why mortgage brokers will miss emails.

There are 58 different emails that can be sent out to a single broker. That amount of emails plus how many clients a broker can have is a major contributor as to why mortgage brokers will miss emails.

SOLUTION

Introducing portal notifications

How did we get here?

How did we get here?

IDEATION

How might we decrease the chance of our partners missing critical updates with the portal?

Designing for the portal was the most obvious solution because prior research done on mortgage brokers shows that they spend a majority of their time on a desktop device.

Designing for the portal was the most obvious solution because prior research done on mortgage brokers shows that they spend a majority of their time on a desktop device.

Web Portal

Mortgage broker's primary platform.

Email

Current medium of notifications.

SMS Messaging

Not currently available.

Mobile app

Not currently available.

ORGANIZING

Categorizing 58 different email templates

We split the 58 different email templates into three categories. Categorizing each notification is a necessary step because it allows them to understand which notifications are urgent at a glance.

We split the 58 different email templates into three categories. Categorizing each notification is a necessary step because it allows them to understand which notifications are urgent at a glance.

Urgent notifications

Give actionable steps to brokers to address something that's time-sensitive.

Give actionable steps to brokers to address something that's time-sensitive.

Loan updates

Inform users of workflow changes or approvals in loan pipeline.

Inform users of workflow changes or approvals in loan pipeline.

Email

Inform users about Pro feature updates and market-related news.

Inform users about Pro feature updates and market-related news.

EARLY DESIGNS

Showing my early designs

Once we had a good idea of what the designs might look like, we would bring that into user testing.

Once we had a good idea of what the designs might look like, we would bring that into user testing.

TESTING

Finding what's best for our users

Partnering with the internal research team, two of my designs were used in a research study with five mortgage brokers. The goal was to understand which of the designs best suited our user's needs.

Partnering with the internal research team, two of my designs were used in a research study with five mortgage brokers. The goal was to understand which of the designs best suited our user's needs.

Design 1: All notifications

Design 2: Tabbed notifications

TEST RESULTS

80% of participants prefer tabbed notifications

Of the five tests conducted, four participants preferred the tabbed notifications approach. While various reasons were given, the recurring one was a desire to see the most urgent notifications without other notifications cluttering the display.

Of the five tests conducted, four participants preferred the tabbed notifications approach. While various reasons were given, the recurring one was a desire to see the most urgent notifications without other notifications cluttering the display.

FINAL DESIGN

Tab-separated notifications approach

For three weeks, I worked alongside content designers, senior UX researchers, and senior product designers to come up with the foundation of a notification system.

For three weeks, I worked alongside content designers, senior UX researchers, and senior product designers to come up with the foundation of a notification system.

NEXT STEPS

What did I learn?

I was fortunate to be on an amazing and supportive team where I grew tremendously as a designer. Here are some of my takeaways:

I was fortunate to be on an amazing and supportive team where I grew tremendously as a designer. Here are some of my takeaways:

Design with a "people-first" mentality, catering to different user preferences with an emphasis on accessibility.

Design with a "people-first" mentality, catering to different user preferences with an emphasis on accessibility.

Communication doesn't always have to be verbal, design artifacts are great for traversing through ambiguity.

Communication doesn't always have to be verbal, design artifacts are great for traversing through ambiguity.

Design isn't black and white; items like design artifacts are mutable.

Design isn't black and white; items like design artifacts are mutable.

Growth involves challenging yourself and going outside of your comfort zone.

Growth involves challenging yourself and going outside of your comfort zone.

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© Matthew Thien, 2025

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Something on your mind?

Feel free to reach out.

© Matthew Thien, 2025

Navigation

Home

About

Photography

Resume

© Matthew Thien, 2025

Navigation

Home

About

Photography

Resume

Something on your mind?

Feel free to reach out.

Something on your mind?

Feel free to reach out.

© Matthew Thien, 2025

Navigation

Home

About

Photography

Resume