Onboarding Digital Rewards
Redesigning the M&S Banking app experience to help users understand, connect, and engage with the Digital Rewards programme — from first discovery through to account linking.
Product Designer
Onboarding · Acquisition · Account linking
User testing · Iterative design
The brief
This while working on the M&S Bank product team, where my focus was improving the onboarding screens responsible for account linking inside the Digital Rewards programme. The work touched discovery, comprehension, and the first transactional moment users have with the rewards experience.
Every design decision was grounded in existing user comprehension what people already understood about rewards, vouchers, and Sparks rather than reinventing mental models. The goal was clarity, not novelty.
User testing
Existing user-testing material was used to inform design decisions and avoid making assumptions about user behaviour. Three insight areas shaped the work directly.
The monetary value of rewards wasn't perceived as real or tangible during the first-time experience.
Users needed clearer guidance on how vouchers worked across online and in-store contexts.
Naming caused confusion — bonus offers were easily mistaken for standard offers.
This approach kept me targeted and impartial. Rather than designing based on what I thought users needed, the research provided a clear foundation.
Acquisition branding
I created multiple UI iterations of the Sparks hub to explore how hierarchy, visual weight, and density influenced what users noticed first. The aim was to find the version that felt impactful without becoming noisy.
The hardest part was restraint — keeping copy succinct, CTA-focused, and free of redundant signposting. Every removed sentence made the remaining ones clearer.
Success state design
The account-linking success state needed to do more than confirm a completed task. I designed beyond plain text to create a stronger moment for the user a clear sense of arrival into the rewards experience.
Information arranged in a readable sequence that made sense at this stage of the journey.
Users could clearly see which offers were available in their account at a glance.
Icons that correlated with the text and communicated possible next steps.
