Tiffany Chung is a product designer, graphic designer and educator based in Los Angeles, California. She is currently a product designer at Vanilla, where she creates user-centered solutions for complex financial products. She is also a part-time lecturer at Otis College of Art and Design, where she helps students learn to create meaningful interactions between users and products.

She holds an MFA in Graphic Design from Otis College of Art and Design and a BS in Public Health from Brigham Young University.

Case Studies

Abstraction Refactor
Balance Sheet

Additional Work

CarbonShack
Holocaust Museum LA
Symwerian: Menstrual Equity

Contact

Email


Case Study

Abstraction Refactor

Role

Product Designer

Overview

Creating a flexible and customizable workflow for estate plannersVanilla is a fintech platform designed to simplify estate planning for financial advisors and estate planners. A core feature of the platform, the estate builder, enables users to input and organize key data about their clients’ estate documents, like trusts and wills, and turn them into comprehensive diagrams, estate maps, and visualizations.

The estate builder’s abstraction system initially featured a quick-add functionality that allowed users to create different disposition structures with a single click. While this seemed efficient, it introduced complications over time, particularly for estate planners who required more flexibility and precision. A custom disposition option was then created as an attempt to mitigate the issue, but it proved to lack flexibility.
    QUICK-ADD FUNCTIONALITY

        Problem Statement

        Estate planners encountered significant barriers when using the estate builder’s original abstraction system.

        • Workflow Inefficiencies – Navigating lengthy screens and an ill-defined custom option slowed down the process.
        • Data Loss – Switching between disposition structures erased previously entered information, forcing users to start over.
        • Process Misalignment – The quick-add tiles did not reflect how users naturally read and abstract information from documents, leading to frustration.
        • Disconnected Processes – Adding notes and fiduciaries required users to leave the disposition section and manually navigate to a separate area, disrupting the abstraction flow.
          INITIAL ESTATE BUILDER

            Additionally, 20% of users relied on the custom option as an escape hatch, indicating a less-than-ideal experience for a significant subset of users.

            Objective

            We want to reimagine the abstraction system to enhance the user experience and build a scalable infrastructure that supports future growth by simplifying the user interface, improving accuracy and creating a streamlined workflows for estate planners.


            USER WORKFLOW


            Research

            In collaboration with the UX Researcher, we interviewed estate planners to identify workflow challenges. We discovered that before using Vanilla, they relied on PowerPoint for estate plan visualizations, highlighting a need for a more flexible and customizable system. Additionally, I mapped how users currently abstract documents and found that estate planners typically read through documents and build the plan incrementally as they uncover new details. This insight guided us to design a solution that more closely mirrors their natural workflow.
              ESTATE BUILDER FIRST PASS

              First Iteration

              Estate planners typically read documents and map out the plan incrementally as they uncover new information. To mimic this step-by-step workflow, I replaced full-disposition tiles with single-distribution tiles to better reflect how users naturally process and organize information. 

              When we tested this design with our internal estate planner team, they pointed out that the single-distribution tiles, while effective, occupied significant real estate. Because users typically select 2-3 tiles, it became clear that displaying all options at once was unnecessary. We went back to the drawing board to explore ways to minimize the space these tiles occupied.


                How might we minimize the space taken up by the tiles while still allowing users to easily select and organize information in a way that reflects their natural workflow?

                MODULAR DESIGN WITH INTEGRATED NOTES AND FIDUCIARIES


                Solution

                To address the challenges identified, we implemented a series of targeted design solutions focused on improving flexibility and reducing friction: 
                ADDING NOTES IN ESTATE BUILDER
                1. Single-Distribution Tiles – Replacing quick-add tiles with single-distribution tiles provided greater flexibility and precision, aligning with user workflows.
                2. Modular Design – Single-distribution tiles appear when users click the add button, opening a modular interface where planners select only the distributions they need. Once selected, only those distributions appear on the main abstraction form.
                3. Integrated Notes and Fiduciaries – Notes and fiduciaries were integrated into the modal flow, allowing users to easily add this information without navigating to a separate section. This streamlined the abstraction process and reduced workflow interruptions.


                Impact

                The abstraction refactor positioned Vanilla as a more effective tool for estate planners, delivering measurable improvements including faster workflows, increased user satisfaction and trust in the platform’s capabilities and a scalable foundation for future enhancements, ensuring Vanilla grows alongside its users’ needs. 

                Users praised the improved design and alignment with their workflows but highlighted areas for further refinement. While the new system minimizes workflow inefficiencies, users desire a more intuitive way to make quick edits. Additionally, notes play a crucial role in the abstraction process. Although Vanilla offers pre-populated notes, organizations often require their own approved notes, emphasizing the need for customization.


                "We have another program that we do a lot of document extractions on, but it's not as high end as Vanilla. We're doing a lot of [abstractions], but for our top clients we need more firepower. We need a better delivery. So this is good stuff." - Randy H.


                Key Takeaways

                Through this project, I learned that addressing specific pain points for key user personas drives impactful results. Interviews and direct user feedback illuminated frustrations and informed practical solutions. Additionally, simplified workflows empower users to handle complex scenarios confidently. Switching from quick-add to single-distribution tiles significantly enhanced flexibility. Lastly, collaborative problem-solving between design and research ensured user-centric outcomes.
                MONITORING METRICS ON FULLSTORY

                Next Steps

                To further enhance the abstraction process and ensure continued improvement, we are focusing on the following key initiatives:

                1. Leverage AI for Abstraction – Implement AI capabilities to automate the abstraction process, allowing planners to review and approve abstracted content.
                2. Improve Editing Experience – Design an intuitive system for assigning notes directly to specific distributions, ensuring adaptability.
                3. Monitor Long-Term Performance – Continuously track key metrics to identify opportunities for improvement and maintain high user satisfaction.