My career at Vanguard has been a unique journey. I started as a user experience (UX) designer in 2001 and then left to pursue a graduate degree full-time in 2003. After graduate school, I spent 10+ years working for myself as well as teaching design and digital strategy at a few universities. I came back to Vanguard in 2014 to help evolve the UX practices within the firm. Since returning, I am often asked two questions — Why did you come back, and what is it like being a designer at Vanguard?
For the first question, the simple answer is to lead and support a purpose I believe in. I have learned that I am most motivated and do my best work when I am supporting a meaningful purpose. Vanguard’s purpose — to bring investing to anyone and give every investor the best chance for investment success — has always been close to my heart. I have always seen this mission as a design challenge. Financial services can appear to have a high entrance barrier with dense information and countless options. Designers are the perfect fit to distill this information into digestible, relevant and easy to use interactions for our clients. For me, there is nothing more purposeful than helping to build confident investors and bringing the Vanguard mission to life.
For the second question, as I reflect on over 20 years spent in the industry, and especially the last six years as a Head of Design, three things come to mind:
The opportunity to work with top talent
One of my favorite things about working at Vanguard is the opportunity my team and I have to work with amazingly talented crew within technology, business, analytics, research and design. Our teams are multi-disciplinary and work together on a daily basis to solve problems. The collaboration and synergy we have is the core reason for our success as individuals and as a broader team.
Supportive mentors & various career options
We have mentors for individuals at all levels and work to cultivate careers for the long-term. Whether you are just starting out or have decades of experience, there are many paths within Vanguard to advance in your career. I have had great mentors throughout my career, and especially during my time at Vanguard, which is why mentoring and teaching are some of my favorite things about my job. I greatly enjoy helping my team of designers and strategists realize their goals, and I learn more from them then they could from me. Also, I value the mentorship from my direct leader and network of peers — these relationships have enabled me to grow as a person, a practitioner, and as a leader.
Contribute to a strong design culture
Since I returned to Vanguard, our UX team has grown to include over 50 practitioners across visual design, strategy, content and research. As we have expanded, we have focused on making our culture one of our strongest assets — a culture that is centered around mastering our craft with an obsession on solving problems for our clients. We live this regularly through active peer networks, communities of practice, training programs, and working directly with our business stakeholders.
