Consumer FacingMobileEnd-to-End

Digital Loan Application

Redesigning the loan application experience for American farmers — from paper forms to a guided digital flow.

Role

Product Designer — end-to-end design, design system, user research

Team

1 PM, 1 Designer, 4 Engineers

Timeline

May 2021 – Dec. 2023

Digital Loan Application cover

Problem

Farmers Are Struggling With the Outdated Loan Process

The existing DocuSign-based process was inefficient for both farmers and FBN Finance.

USER

For Farmers

Struggled to complete applications without assistance

Errors led to delays, denials, or increased rates

Complex sections like collateral had no digital guidance

BUSINESS

For FBN

Human touchpoints required at nearly every stage

Impossible to scale during high-volume periods

No visibility into application status or bottlenecks

⁈ How might we empower farmers to apply independently — while giving FBN the tools to scale?

Approach

From Pillars to Decisions

With a project this foundational, scope creep was a real risk. To stay focused on the MVP, my PM and I led two key activities:

Competitor analysis — studied loan platforms across retail and ag to identify what worked and what patterns we could adapt

Stakeholder workshops — gathered input from across the business to surface priorities and ensure design decisions would serve both farmers and FBN's operational needs

From these sessions, I distilled the findings into three design pillars — guiding principles that helped us filter feedback, stay focused, and make faster decisions throughout the project.

Self Service

Simplified flow, eliminated unnecessary questions, and provided contextual help throughout the application

Application Security

Early identity verification and centralized document upload to prevent fraud and reduce email exchanges

Data Accuracy

Real-time error feedback and plain language over jargon to reduce mistakes

Design Details — Key Dimensions of Form UX

Content

What questions to ask, how to phrase them, and in what order

Flow

How users navigate through the application step by step

Layout

How information is revealed and presented on each screen

Eliminated 23% of Redundant Questions

→ Farmers reached the end without being stopped by unfamiliar or irrelevant questions.

Form field documentation spreadsheet

To manage complexity, I documented every form field with its conditions, helper text, and API endpoints in a shared spreadsheet — this became the single source of truth for the entire application.

Building Trust Through Credibility & Transparency

→ Farmers knew who they were dealing with and why each step mattered before committing.

Start page showing FBN credibility stats

Start page — right rail highlights what FBN offers to build credibility upfront

ID Verification screen

ID Verification — we explained why identity verification is needed before submission

FBN's credibility and data usage policy are surfaced at the very start of the flow — and identity verification is explained before it's requested.

✦ The UX patterns built for this project — steppers, forms, and complex accordions — were later adopted by other teams and added to FBN's company design library, Harvest.

Final Design

The Finished Experience

Click each tab to explore the screens →

Eligibility Check

Eligibility Check

Farmers confirm minimum requirements before starting. This prevents unqualified applications and reduces noise for the loan team.

Impact

What It Changed

23%

of redundant questions eliminated

10,000+

Farmers reached at launch

87%

Customer satisfaction score (CSAT)

NextFinance Platform Redesign →