Enabling content customization with design systems
I joined Vanguard Canada’s 12-person digital team during a very pivotal phase — the launch of their new Canadian website on Adobe Experience Manager (AEM). As a designer unfamiliar with AEM, I was eager to dive in and learn as much as I could while being quite aware of the impact of a CMS on the front-end user experience.
I’m always interested in new technologies, and I accepted that onboarding and learning a different CRM would undoubtedly provide a significant daily cognitive load. Paired with the lone product owner, we grappled with a growing backlog of everyday issues, particularly the tight timelines that were assigned to adapting two more regional websites for Mexico and South America. Fortunately, we had support from the global enterprise, access to similar teams in other regions that we could learn from, and a comprehensive library of guidelines.
Beyond our daily tasks, one of the primary objectives was to enrich the advisor relationship. Though this is always an overarching goal for any organization, it was emphasized by feedback coming from advisors highlighting a lack of differentiation in the product for professionals versus individual investors. Sign-in to the advisor portal was outdated, and some tools and evergreen content were not using AEM and also required updating.
Additionally, content publishers found it difficult to address this feedback because of a lack of immaturity in the site’s CRM component library.
Publishers wanted:
- The ability to deliver consistently branded content.
- To be able to customize content for specific audiences.
- Ensure the content upheld the brand both visually and in voice
- And to reduce their dependency on the development team.
Discussions with teams in other regions revealed that they faced similar challenges but solved many similar issues with a more scalable design system. Since we needed a library that was more dynamic and strategic, I to the leadership role in subscribing to the enterprise’s UK design system. This shift will allow teams to focus less on customizing and creating static components and give more setting options to content publishers. The collaborative approach also enabled regional teams to contribute to libraries, expanding its functionality for all teams.
Advisor Sign in
The Result
Advisors can now access gated content in an interface governed by a dynamic design system. They can also access unique tools and features presented using libraries distinct to the Enterprise’s brand, and the advisor experience. But mostly, this implementation has created positive momentum toward the user experience in Canada, Mexico, and South America.
