New Product Launch
Credit Cards Project
Building clarity, alignment, and assets for a complex credit card portfolio.
Project Summary
I led the in-house creative strategy for a full credit card portfolio relaunch spanning five distinct products, each with different audiences, use cases, and channels.
The work focused on building clarity where none previously existed—defining positioning, personas, and a unified creative system—while coordinating internal teams and agency partners through a high-visibility rollout.
My Role: Lead Creative Strategist
Creative Strategy
Defining audience personas and positioning in partnership with Product Marketing to ground the portfolio in clear, human-centered strategy.
Creative Umbrella
Establishing a unified creative framework—visuals, voice, and guardrails—to align internal teams and agency partners.
Asset Development
Translating strategy into channel-ready assets across digital, email, and branch touchpoints at portfolio scale.
Stakeholder Management
Aligning senior leaders, product partners, creatives, and agencies around shared goals and decision-making criteria.
Team Leadership
Leading cross-functional and agency teams through ambiguity to deliver a cohesive, portfolio-wide vision.
Credit Card Design
Guiding card design exploration to balance brand consistency, differentiation, and market appeal.
From Strategy to Execution
- Personas
- Creative Umbrella
- Assets & Deliverables
- Results
1. Personas
We developed a distinct persona for each card to clarify who each product was for—and just as importantly, who it wasn’t—bringing focus to messaging, imagery, and channel strategy across the portfolio.
These personas guided messaging, imagery, and channel strategy, ensuring each card spoke to the most relevant audience while remaining cohesive within the broader portfolio.
Rewards Signature Card: The Everyday Optimizer
Persona summary
A busy spender who wants easy rewards on daily purchases without tracking categories or rules.
Imagery direction
- Adult 25–50
- In motion: grocery store, coffee shop, gas station, checkout moments
- Warm, energetic lifestyle photography
Message / tone
- Friendly, straightforward, efficient
- “Set it and forget it” energy
Essential Platinum Card: The Credit Builder
Persona summary
Someone actively building or rebuilding credit and looking for a reliable, supportive starting point.
Imagery direction
- Adult 20–40
- Approachable, optimistic expressions
- Real-life moments: first apartment, budgeting on a phone, everyday errands
Message / tone
- Encouraging, supportive, confidence-building
- Focus on progress and momentum
- Plainspoken, never condescending
Simply Platinum Card: The Rate Minimizer
Persona summary
A practical, budget-conscious member who wants to keep interest low and finances predictable.
Imagery direction
- Adult 30–50
- Calm, neutral expressions
- Everyday settings: kitchen table, home office, paying bills, reviewing mail
Message / tone
- Clear, reassuring, no-nonsense
- Emphasize simplicity, control, peace of mind
- Avoid hype or urgency
Lifestyle Signature Card: The Experience Seeker
Persona summary
A member who prioritizes dining, travel, and experiences and wants their spending to feel rewarding.
Imagery direction
- Adult 25–45
- Confident, expressive, aspirational but attainable
- Dining out, travel prep, concerts, city scenes
Message / tone
- Energetic, aspirational, upbeat
- Focus on enjoyment and flexibility
- Polished but not flashy
Business Signature Card: The Business Professional
Persona summary
A small business owner who wants straightforward rewards and clear separation between business and personal spending.
Imagery direction
- Adult 30–60
- Professional but approachable
- Small business environments: storefronts, medical facilities, hands-on work
Message / tone
- Confident, efficient, respectful of time
- Emphasize value, clarity, and control
- Practical over promotional
One Message. Five Voices.
The overall message of the portfolio remains consistent across the creative umbrella, but the tone and voice change slightly to speak clearly to each card and persona.
Core Message: Find the card that fits your life.
2. Creative umbrella
A shared framework that aligned strategy, design, and messaging across five distinct credit cards—without fragmenting the brand.
Built on existing credit union guidelines, the Creative Umbrella gave internal teams and external partners a single source of truth for how each card should look, sound, and show up across channels.
What the Umbrella Enabled
- Clear roles and positioning for each card
- Consistent design and voice across channels
- Faster alignment across teams and partners
How it Worked
- Shared layouts and hierarchy across materials
- Color-led differentiation for quick recognition
- Visual motifs reinforcing continuity and “fit”
Card Designs
Five cards designed within a shared visual system—balancing differentiation, brand integrity, and stakeholder expectations at portfolio scale.
Skills applied: creative direction, stakeholder alignment, vendor collaboration, and thoughtful expansion of existing brand guidelines.
Photography Mood Board: Rewards Card – the Everyday Optimizer
This mini mood board defines the photography style for the Everyday Optimizer persona: real people, real routines, and everyday wins. Imagery should feel natural and unposed—capturing familiar moments like errands, outdoor time, and daily purchases.
Focus on natural light, casual body language, and genuine expressions. The goal is to reflect an approachable, practical lifestyle where smart spending supports everyday life.
3. Assets & Deliverables
This portfolio launch required a wide range of channel-ready assets. A selection of key deliverables is highlighted below:
- Web: “Hub” Landing Page
- Emails: 3 Examples
- Small Flyer/Handout
- Window/Door Decals
- Teller Guide
Web: Portfolio Hub Landing Page
The primary landing experience for the credit card portfolio, designed to help members quickly understand their options and find the card that fits their life.
This example recreates the structure, messaging approach, and visual hierarchy used in the live experience to demonstrate my role in shaping the portfolio’s digital foundation.
All Other Assets: 3 Emails, Handout, Window Decal, Teller Guide
Supporting assets designed to guide members from card arrival to confident, everyday use—across digital and branch touchpoints.
4. Results
While quantitative results were still emerging, this launch delivered meaningful structural and experience improvements across members, teams, and partners.
Outcomes
Before
After
Key Challenges Addressed
Lack of centralized ownership
→ Introduced a Creative Umbrella to align personas, positioning, and design.
High-visibility, multi-stakeholder launch
→ Used shared frameworks to guide decisions and streamline approvals.
Platform constraints during rollout
→ Delivered clear, plain-language communications to set expectations and maintain trust.