Mari Garcia
hi@marigarcia-ux.com |Linkedin | New York, NY
Strategic UX designer with 5+ years transforming complex financial systems into intuitive experiences. Proven track record leading cross-functional teams to deliver enterprise products that increased advisor productivity by improving workforce efficiency and engagement while reducing the error rate from 43% to less than 3%. Expert in bridging business objectives with user needs in regulated environments.
Senior UX Designer | MassMutual
August 2020 - Present
At MassMutual (a Springfield-based, $312 billion Insurance/FinService corporation), I’ve had the pleasure of designing enterprise tools for power users: insurance agents, and DTC customers. Trained in Agile methodologies, I am embedded within engineering squads, cross-functioned with researchers, and content designers, and presented design solutions that balance business and user needs.
Advisor onboarding experience
Achieved 89% user satisfaction score (up from 62%) and 25% increase in digital adoption among advisors
Conducted iterative user research and usability testing, enhancing user task completion rates by 82% and reducing support inquiries by 76%.
Reduced customer support inquiries by 76% related to onboarding by redesigning the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) section, directly impacting operational efficiency and customer satisfaction.
Translated complex financial concepts, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and Personal Sales Record, into intuitive user interfaces, contributing to a reported 89% improvement in user understanding and confidence during employment onboarding.
Wealth management dashboard
Led redesign of Wealth Management dashboard for 30,000+ customers, significantly improving user engagement and satisfaction scores by 43%
Contributed to a 83% increase in visits to Wealth management portal by optimizing key user flows and information architecture across Institutional Solutions.
Financial planning ecosystem platform
Collaborated with product management and engineering to launch a strategic, advisor-facing portal that serves as a central resource for financial advisors ahead of schedule, achieving 57% higher initial adoption.
Conducted usability testing with an average of 5 users per project, identifying and addressing at least 20 critical usability issues, and validating design solutions with data.
Partnered with data scientists to integrate behavioral economics principles into saving.
Strategic Leadership
Developed and iterated on design systems components, contributing to a 23% faster design implementation, leading to an increase of 71% consistent user experience across products.
Championed accessibility standards, achieving WCAG 2.1 AA compliance across all advisor-facing products.
UX Designer | DemocracyLab
July 2018 - July 2020
Design a simple, intuitive, and personalizable alerts system that connects volunteers with available projects on DemocracyLab.
Develop a deep understanding of the pain points, needs, wants and behaviors of the user
Create user-centered designs by considering market analysis, data, feedback, user research and technical constraints/opportunities
Proactively identify gaps in the current digital experience and lead the effort to develop solutions for continuous improvement
Contributing to the identification of current product enhancements and new offerings including development of strategy, design, deliverables, and final products
Skills
Design: Expert in User Research, User Flows, User Journeys, Service Design, Information Architecture, Wireframing, Mockups, Prototyping, Usability Testing, A/B Testing, Design Systems, Design Thinking, Sprint Methodology, Interaction Design, Visual Design, Specification Development
Accessibility: WCAG 2.2 & 3 Standards, Localization, Internationalization
Technical: HTML, CSS, Responsive Design, Developer Handoff
Domain expertise: Financial services, Enterprise B2B, Compliance & Regulatory Design, Multi-stakeholder Products
Tools
Figma
Framer
Adobe XD
Confluence
Sketch
InVision
Basic HTML/CSS
Soft Skills
Cross-functional Collaboration, Agile Methodologies, Project Management, Stakeholder Management, Problem-Solving, Communication, Leadership
Education
C.U.N.Y
B.S. International Business
Certificate
Agile Transformation inc

