MGDF Consulting
Q3 2024
Project Overview
MGDF Consulting specializes in securing EU grants and private venture capital for SMEs.
As the end-to-end Product Designer, my goal was to design a modern, user-centric website that bridges the gap between complex B2B financial services and intuitive digital experiences.
I focused on optimizing information architecture, establishing core value propositions, and streamlining conversion funnel for funding inquiries. Beyond the UX strategy, I built a scalable design system and collaborated closely with developers through handoff to ensure high-fidelity designs were pixel-perfectly implemented into a custom WordPress template.
Duration: 3 months
Team: UX/UI Designer + PHP Developer
Access Figma project
I adapted the Double Diamond framework to establish a structured, thorough approach to understanding user needs, defining key problems, and delivering a polished product within agreed timeline.
Stakeholder workshops
To align user experience with business metrics, I facilitated co-creation workshops with MGDF’s CEO and marketing team. We defined our primary user persona: time-strapped SME entrepreneurs navigating complex funding landscapes, and established a prioritized feature backlog based on business feasibility and user value:
Primary value prop: Clear articulation of consulting expertise and strategy
Engagement loops: An embedded, dynamically updated schedule for EU grant application deadlines
Social proof: High-impact case studies to build credibility
Conversion engine: A streamlined, frictionless contact form with contextual CTAs
Competitive evaluation
I conducted a competitive heuristic evaluation of leading EU fund consulting websites.
The findings: While competitors had robust service documentation, they suffered from high cognitive load, dense text walls, rigid information architecture, and outdated, non-responsive UI layouts
The UX opportunity: Position MGDF as a modern, transparent, and approachable partner by leveraging a clean visual hierarchy, digestible microcopy, and intuitive navigation
Reduce coginitive overload
One of the UX challenges was to translate dense financial language into scannable digital content. I took ownership of the UX writing and content strategy, building a clear, accessible microcopy that guided users through the conversion funnel.
Optimize conversion funnel
With a primary business KPI of maximizing prospective clients inquiries, I mapped out a user journey that minimized friction. I strategically placed contextual CTA (Contact) at high-intent decision points, optimizing the conversion funnel for phone, email, and form completions.
Given a tight timeline to launch before the next major EU funding cycle, we scoped down the launch to a high-converting MVP, pushing deep service pages and case studies to further development phase. Key achievements:
Reduced time-to-market: The modular design system and clean developer handoff reduced planned engineering implementation time by 20%
Qualitative user validation: Moderated usability testing on the MVP prototype showed a 100% task success rate for finding active grant schedule and navigating to the contact form
Client Impact: Stakeholder feedback confirmed that the polished UI and clear value proposition significantly elevated MGDF's market presence, resulting in immediate engagement post-launch
Now that the MVP is live, the next phase involves setting up Hotjar and Google Analytics to track form drop-off rates and run A/B tests on CTA placements.
Building a high-fidelity prototype early saved us days of development alignment. It allowed the developers to understand the interactions and responsive behavior of the CSS grids before typing a single line of code.
