Axis Direct

The Real Problem

Axis Direct was built to help retail investors research markets, evaluate stocks and execute trades, but the experience had become increasingly difficult to navigate. Important information was spread across dense screens, interaction patterns were inconsistent, and critical actions required users to process too much information at once.

The impact was showing in user behaviour. We were seeing high drop-offs across critical trading journeys, particularly around stock evaluation and order placement, and some traders were stopping using the platform altogether. For users making time-sensitive financial decisions, uncertainty or friction at these moments could quickly become abandonment.

Our discovery and research surfaced recurring problems:

• Ambiguous icons and unclear navigation made important features difficult to find.

• Dense layouts and fragmented market information increased cognitive load.

• Complex order flows made users uncertain about price, quantity and order types.

• Limited feedback and reassurance reduced confidence before confirming trades.

• Inconsistent interaction patterns made the experience harder to learn and predict.

The underlying problem wasn't simply an outdated interface. The platform had accumulated complexity over time without enough consideration of the end-to-end trading journey. We needed to understand where traders were struggling, why they were dropping off, and how the experience could better support decisions from stock discovery through to order confirmation.

Understanding the Existing Experience

I began by auditing the existing Axis Direct experience using heuristic evaluation and interface analysis. I reviewed key journeys against usability principles to identify ambiguous interactions, inconsistent patterns, dense information and weak system feedback.

This gave us an initial picture of where the experience was creating friction before moving into deeper research.

Understanding the Business Perspective

I conducted stakeholder interviews across strategy, digital experience, operations and customer-facing teams to understand business priorities and recurring customer challenges.

A consistent theme emerged: trading needed to become faster, clearer and more aligned with real customer behaviour, rather than simply reproducing existing market conventions.

Understanding Different Trading Behaviours

Through user interviews and research synthesis, I explored how investors with different levels of experience approached market information and trading decisions.

The research revealed distinct needs across novice, passive, active and expert traders, from reducing cognitive overload to providing fast access to advanced market information.

Turning Research into Behavioural Patterns

I synthesised findings from user research, stakeholder conversations and the existing experience audit, clustering observations to identify recurring behaviours, frustrations and decision points.

This helped us move beyond individual comments and establish the patterns shaping the overall trading experience.

Mapping the Trading Journey Together

I facilitated and contributed to journey-mapping workshops to bring research findings together with perspectives from across the team.

We mapped how users searched, evaluated stocks, interpreted market information, placed orders and managed holdings, identifying friction, uncertainty and opportunities across the journey.

Connecting Behaviour, Interface and Technology

I translated the research into an end-to-end trading journey, connecting user goals and behavioural issues with interface problems, touchpoints and underlying technology.

This made it easier to identify where cognitive overload, unclear terminology, fragmented information and transaction anxiety were affecting users.

Simplifying the Path to a Trade

I mapped the core flow from stock discovery through order confirmation, identifying decision points and unnecessary complexity along the way.

The flow helped us simplify how users moved between search, stock evaluation, buy/sell decisions, order entry and confirmation before moving into detailed interface design.

Exploring Solutions Collaboratively

I worked with designers and cross-functional partners to translate research findings into multiple concepts and interaction approaches. Through collaborative whiteboarding and wireframing sessions, we explored different ways of structuring market overview, market depth and order flows before selecting directions to prototype and test.

Research Continued Through the Design

Rather than treating research as a single discovery phase, I used iterative usability testing throughout the design process, moving through multiple wireframe versions.

Testing revealed issues around information hierarchy, dense forms, selection states and transaction confidence and each round informed the next iteration.

Designing Confidence into Confirmation

For a financial transaction, speed alone wasn't enough, users also needed confidence that an order wouldn't be submitted accidentally.

I introduced an intentional swipe-to-confirm interaction with progressive feedback, creating a deliberate final action while keeping the experience fast for active traders.

Designing Confidence into Confirmation

For a financial transaction, speed alone wasn't enough, users also needed confidence that an order wouldn't be submitted accidentally.

I introduced an intentional swipe-to-confirm interaction with progressive feedback, creating a deliberate final action while keeping the experience fast for active traders.

Designing Confidence into Confirmation

For a financial transaction, speed alone wasn't enough, users also needed confidence that an order wouldn't be submitted accidentally.

I introduced an intentional swipe-to-confirm interaction with progressive feedback, creating a deliberate final action while keeping the experience fast for active traders.

Designing for Scale, Not One Screen

I designed the experience using reusable Subzero components, WCAG-compliant patterns and design tokens, rather than creating isolated interface solutions.

Component states, spacing, behaviour and interaction rules were documented to create consistency across design and development and make future implementation easier.

Designing for Different Ways of Trading

Accessibility was considered across the experience through regional-language support, text scaling, accessible contrast and alternative themes, including dark and high-contrast modes.

The goal was to support people with different abilities, languages, contexts and interaction preferences, rather than designing around one assumed trader.