From Clutter to Cashflow: A Redesign for Retention

Challenge

Klarna's payment communications were visually cluttered and inconsistent, leading to user confusion and missed payments. The designs were not aligned with the main Klarna design system, which directly impacted user retention and payment rates.

Actions

Project Leadership & Strategy:

• I led the redesign from strategy to implementation, directing a team of designers to align the new visuals with the core Klarna design system, successfully addressing critical usability issues that were impacting payment and user retention rates.

• I collaborated with cross-functional teams to identify key customer pain points and remove outdated legal constraints to streamline the user experience.

Design Execution & Impact:

• I defined a new information architecture to focus on clarity, placing essential information and calls-to-action "above the fold", making sure users immediately understood their next steps.

• Introduced high-visibility "alert blocks" to draw attention to critical information or time-sensitive tasks, and I updated the design hierarchy to ensure immediate access to key functions.

• Shifted the design focus from individual merchants to the Klarna brand, creating a consistent and trustworthy user experience across all communications.

• Developed and implemented several key UI components, including a summary header to clarify the purpose of each communication and a new visual component to clearly display the user's payment plan status.

Results

The redesigned communications now features a clean and standardized visual identity, leading to an immediate and positive shift in payment rates. We also significantly streamlined the codebase by consolidating 320 templates into just 26, improving consistency and making maintenance more efficient.