BCG by Forage

Completed the BCG Strategic & Experience Design Job Simulation through Forage in 2024, exploring how human-centered research could inform a new consumer banking experience.

I developed a research framework covering participant screening, survey questions, customer behaviors, and personas. I later independently transformed the simulation work into a Figma case study, strengthening the visual storytelling and communication of strategic design decisions.

The hypothetical banking client needed to explore opportunities for a new consumer product. However, the starting point was an ambiguous business challenge rather than a clearly defined user problem.

Before proposing features or interfaces, I needed to investigate how consumers approached financial decisions, what frustrated them about existing experiences, and which unmet needs could reveal meaningful opportunities.

The central question was: What problem is worth solving, and what evidence supports that direction?

The challenge was to establish a research process capable of connecting consumer behaviors with potential product opportunities, without jumping prematurely into interface design.

I developed participant screening criteria, research questions, and a survey framework to investigate customer motivations, needs, and pain points. I then organized the research material into behavioral patterns, personas, and more than five pain points or opportunity areas.

The goal was to move from broad assumptions toward clearer problem definitions that could guide concept development.

Rather than treating research artifacts as the final deliverable, I structured the process around a clear progression: Evidence → Insight → Opportunity → Concept.

I focused on identifying recurring customer needs, using personas to represent meaningful behavioral patterns, and translating those findings into potential directions for a consumer banking experience.

When independently rebuilding the project in Figma, I also prioritized clearer information hierarchy and research visualization, making the reasoning behind each strategic recommendation easier to follow.

The simulation produced a structured research plan, participant screener, survey framework, personas, and a synthesis of more than five customer pain points or opportunity areas. These outputs supported the development of potential banking-product concepts.

I later expanded the work into an independently designed Figma case study, improving how research findings, strategic opportunities, and design reasoning were communicated.

As a simulated project, it did not generate measured business or product outcomes. Its value lies in demonstrating a research-led approach to product discovery and strategic experience design.

This project reinforced that experience design begins long before the first interface is created. Understanding customer behaviors, identifying missing evidence, and defining the right problem are essential parts of designing meaningful products.

It also strengthened my ability to communicate strategic thinking through research synthesis, personas, and visual storytelling.

The principle I carried forward was simple: Research is valuable when it changes a decision. The designer’s responsibility is not only to propose what should be built, but to explain why that direction makes sense.