Setting the Stage:
A New Chapter for a Financial News Platform
A New Chapter for a Financial News Platform
In 2023, Inteligência Financeira (IF), originally created by Itaú in partnership with Editora Globo, began a bold new journey. Now fully owned by Itaú, IF adopted a new brand positioning — developed by Ana Couto brand agency — and expanded its target audience.
This wasn’t just a cosmetic change. The platform now aimed to serve:
• Young, affluent professionals
• Mature, finance-savvy investors
• C-level decision-makers
Yet the product’s interface and UX still spoke to beginners.
Challenge:
Realign the experience with the new brand, optimize for performance, and lay the foundation for personalization at scale.
Realign the experience with the new brand, optimize for performance, and lay the foundation for personalization at scale.
The Diagnosis:
UX, Tech and Brand Misalignment
UX, Tech and Brand Misalignment
We kicked off with a comprehensive product audit and user research. The findings were clear:
🔻 UI outdated and misaligned with the new brand voice
🔻 No design system — inconsistent components, poor maintainability
🔻 Technical legacy created sluggish performance
🔻 Vague category navigation (“Learn”, “Know”, “Follow”)
alienated more advanced audiences
🔻 No design system — inconsistent components, poor maintainability
🔻 Technical legacy created sluggish performance
🔻 Vague category navigation (“Learn”, “Know”, “Follow”)
alienated more advanced audiences
The Strategy:
A Full Redesign Anchored in Data and Scalability
A Full Redesign Anchored in Data and Scalability
My work was done across four major workstreams using the double diamond method:
1. Research & Market References
I analyzed the habits of the new target segments, cross-referencing marketing personas with global benchmarks, and this is what I learned:
• Young professionals (Uniclass) → Action-oriented journeys (e.g. Robinhood, NerdWallet)
• Mature investors (Personnalité) → Tools and planning resources (e.g. Investopedia)
• C-level executives → Analytical, no-frills content (e.g. Brazil Journal, Neofeed)
2. New Architecture & Visual Identity
Created and tested prototypes alongside the editorial board.
✅ New navigation focused on thematic depth (e.g. Fixed Income, Stocks, Planning)
✅ UI aligned to Itaú’s visual system: Typography: Itaú Display/Text and Color
Palette: Adapted from Ana Couto’s rebranding
✅ Perception tests confirmed increased trust and authority
✅ UI aligned to Itaú’s visual system: Typography: Itaú Display/Text and Color
Palette: Adapted from Ana Couto’s rebranding
✅ Perception tests confirmed increased trust and authority
3. Performance & Personalization Infrastructure
I co-led the development team to create a technical
foundation and introduce data-driven experimentation:
foundation and introduce data-driven experimentation:
🚀 Performance Audit with Lighthouse
📦 Reduced payloads + Web Workers
📊 R3 Framework for real-time content personalization
🧪 A/B testing with VWO
📈 Semantic taxonomy on GA4 tracking View and Conversion events
📦 Reduced payloads + Web Workers
📊 R3 Framework for real-time content personalization
🧪 A/B testing with VWO
📈 Semantic taxonomy on GA4 tracking View and Conversion events
4. Scalable Design System
I was able to build a modular, scalable Design System using Atomic Design principles:
Atoms → Molecules → Organisms → Templates
60+ documented components in Figma and Notion
✅ Consistency across platforms
✅ Faster delivery and iteration
✅ Easier handoff and maintenance
✅ Smooth, microinteraction-driven navigation
Results that speak loudly:
Tangible Improvements in UX, Performance, and Engagement
Tangible Improvements in UX, Performance, and Engagement
67.3% faster page load time
The enhanced speed and responsiveness of the platform, driven by component optimization and performance audits, significantly elevated the overall user experience. A faster site not only improved usability but also reinforced the credibility and perceived value of the Itaú brand.
(Comparison between Speed Index in June 2023 (15,6s) vs January 2024 (5,1s), which was the first full month with the new Design System's first iteration, obtained via Google's PageSpeed/Lighthouse)
+537% conversion rate for embedded financial tools
The redesign integrated key financial tools — such as the Fixed Income Calculator and Currency Converter — directly into the content experience. This data-informed approach enabled stronger connections between editorial content and banking products, leading to more qualified leads for account openings and product adoption (CDBs, investment funds, retirement plans, etc.)
(Comparison between the CTR for "Learn More" call-to-action button for Calculadora de Renda Fixa Widget vs. the CTR for common banners, obtained via GA4 Analytics, metrics for September 2024)
80% drop in bounce rate with the new Design System
Comparison between bounce rate in June 2023 (47,3%) vs January 2024 (8,4%), which was the first full month with the new Design System's first iteration (obtained via GA4 Analytics)
10x higher retention for logged-in users (driven by personalized content)
This retention boost signals a higher likelihood of product conversion — as engaged users are more inclined to explore customized offers, boosting long-term loyalty and monetization potential.
(Comparison between retention rate for logged-in users (34,57%) vs non-logged users (3,4%) obtained via GA4 Analytics, metrics for September 2024)
🧱 70+ reusable components with centralized documentation
🧡 Full alignment with Itaú’s brand language and values
By aligning the visual identity and tone of the platform more closely with Itaú’s omnichannel presence, we strengthened user trust and positioned Inteligência Financeira as a seamless extension of the Itaú digital ecosystem — a strategic move to enhance brand perception and user confidence.
This wasn’t just a redesign — it was a reinvention. We reimagined a financial news platform into a trustworthy, scalable, and performance-first product ready for its next chapter.
By uniting design, technology, and data, my role as the Product Design Specialist at Inteligência Financeira developed a platform that speaks fluently to every segment of its audience — and still has room to grow.
Thank you!