< GO BACK
CASE STUDY
CLIENT
Intuit TurboTax
ROLE
Wireframing
Interaction Design
Interface Design
Naming / Branding
Prototyping
Usability Testing
Design Systems Adherence
Stakeholder Collaboration
A product’s support hub should be useful and well designed.
A poor support experience unquestionably affects the integrity of the brand and the likelihood of conversion.
THE CHALLENGE
Millions of users flow into the TurboTax support space from a third party search engine (ie Google) into a post or article, and then right back out again — presenting a missed opportunity for deeper engagement and (eventually) conversion.
Search Engine
Search Results
TurboTax Support Site
Back to Search Engine
Design Hypothesis
If the support space were to be transformed from a passive library of clunky tax articles (to be quickly browsed and discarded) into a smart, engaging, reliable tool with an intuitive interface delivering a pleasurable experience users will invest in developing a relationship with it, and thus be more inclined to convert overall.
RESEARCH
Data shows that websites are more often accessed via mobile devices than stationary (desktop). And yet my research showed that nearly all support websites, when viewed in mobile, are simply condensed versions of the stationary layout. Therefore I focused my design strategy on mobile apps instead. App design is thought of as a separate field than web design, however it is rich with long-solved design solutions for the small, vertical screen.
MOBILE SUPPORT SITES
MOBILE APPS
PERSONA FRAMEWORK & JOURNEY MAPPING
To ground the redesign in human-centered design principles, I developed eight representative personas (four shown below)—each synthesizing key behavioral patterns, goals, and pain points identified through hours of ethnographic research and observational analysis of live user sessions. These archetypes encapsulate distinct user segments across variables such as customer status, filing behavior, digital fluency, and motivational mindset.
Each persona was then mapped to a contextual user journey, outlining their interaction flows, cognitive load, emotional states, and decision-making thresholds. These narrative scenarios were instrumental in validating experience hypotheses and stress-testing the redesigned support architecture.
By designing against real-world user behaviors and intent signals, the resulting UX strategy ensures that core pathways are optimized for clarity, task completion, and personalized support. These personas and their mapped journeys serve as both strategic alignment tools and evaluative frameworks—demonstrating that the reimagined experience demonstrably reduces friction, increases findability, and more effectively supports the nuanced needs of TurboTax’s diverse customer base.
DESIGN AUDIT
Overall, the common elements on the page aren’t being grouped together. The eye doesn’t know where to go intuitively. The page is visually noisy and generating fatigue. However, the page is suffering also from a greater overarching problem — a battle between the site’s overt function (to answer questions) and its covert function (to convert users).
MOBILE
BEFORE
HEAVY DIVIDER is unnecessary
BREADCRUMBS are just visual noise, could be made more practical
TITLE is being forced to yell to compete with the severe lines, corners, and strong contrasty elements
CONTENTS could be leveraging visual cues to orient the user
KEY TAKEAWAYS module must introduce another set of visual elements just to stand out on the page
CONTENT TEXT is dense and doesn’t utilize any interaction design strategies or elements to make the information easier to digest
STATIONARY
BEFORE
HEAVY DIVIDER is unnecessary
BREADCRUMBS are just visual noise, could be made more practical
TITLE is being forced to yell to compete with the severe lines, corners, and strong contrasty elements
CONTENTS could be leveraging visual cues to orient the user
SIGN IN WIDGET is scattered and clunky
LARGE PHOTO is working against clarity
ADS design just adding to the visual noise
KEY TAKEAWAYS module must introduce another set of visual elements just to stand out on the page
CONTENT TEXT is dense and doesn’t utilize any interaction design strategies or elements to make the information easier to digest
THE REDESIGN
MOBILE
I resolved conflict by defining the page’s primary objective as ‘answering the visitor’s question first, fast, factually and without interference.’ This forced the conversion strategy to take a more passive or “soft sell” approach by utilizing incremental conversion techniques, like using the new optimized and pleasing experience to demonstrate brand and product, then offering benefit for deeper engagement.
BEFORE
AFTER
STATIONARY
AFTER
ELEVATED BEVEL HEADER delineates the main TurboTax (marketing) menu functions allowing the support space to exist secondarily below
BREADCRUMBS collapsed and made purposeful with clickable expanding link
ICONOGRAPHICAL visual assistance harnessing left brain function
ILLUSTRATION injects color, joy, and context without requiring much space
SIGN IN WIDGET cleaned up, softened and raised in elevation as well
ADS given their own unique visual language
KEY TAKEAWAYS can now stand out subtly while maintaining airiness
SECTIONS are cued visually without heavy type and made interactive.
STATIONARY | SIDE BY SIDE
BEFORE
AFTER
CONCLUSION
This project reimagined the TurboTax Support Hub through a user-centered lens, leveraging qualitative insights, persona-driven strategy, and journey-based thinking to craft a more intuitive, empathetic, and efficient experience. By aligning the information architecture, interaction design, and content strategy with clearly defined user mental models, the final solution addresses real user pain points while supporting scalable design patterns for future growth.
The redesigned experience demonstrates measurable improvements in wayfinding, task completion, and perceived support quality—validating both the design rationale and strategic approach. Ultimately, this case study reflects my commitment to designing not just interfaces, but end-to-end experiences that empower users, support business goals, and evolve with the product ecosystem.