Optimising a complex financial platform for clarity and scalability

DDCAP Group provides specialist financial infrastructure used by professionals managing complex financial transactions.

Their internal platform, ETHOS, supports high-volume operational workflows across multiple financial services.

Over time, the product had accumulated UX complexity that made navigation slower and reduced clarity across data-heavy interfaces.

Layer2 Studio was engaged to conduct a full Experience Optimisation (XO) programme to identify usability issues and redesign key areas of the interface.

Project Snapshot

Client: DDCAP Group
Industry: Financial Services
Service: Experience Optimisation / UX Audit
Timeline: 3 weeks

The Challenge

ETHOS had evolved significantly over time, resulting in several product experience issues:

• Inconsistent UI patterns across modules

• Dense data interfaces with limited visual hierarchy

• Workflow inefficiencies for frequent tasks

• Lack of a scalable design system

For financial professionals who rely on speed and precision, these issues created unnecessary friction in daily operations.

Strategic Insight

Financial platforms require exceptional clarity and consistency.

Users often process large volumes of information quickly, so the interface must reduce cognitive load and prioritise the most important actions.

Our analysis identified several opportunities:

• Simplify navigation and workflow structure

• Introduce consistent interface patterns

• Improve data hierarchy and readability

• Build scalable UI foundations for future product development

Our Approach

UX & Product Audit

We conducted a comprehensive UX audit across the ETHOS platform, analysing workflows, interaction patterns, and interface structure.

This audit identified over 200 usability findings, highlighting areas where design improvements could significantly improve efficiency.

Experience Optimisation

Rather than redesigning the platform from scratch, we focused on high-impact improvements that would deliver immediate value.

Key priorities included:

• Improving information hierarchy

• Simplifying complex workflows

• Standardising UI components

• Reducing interaction friction

Design System Foundations

To support long-term product development, we created a structured design system including:

• Reusable UI components

• Layout standards

• Interaction patterns

• Visual style guidelines

This provided DDCAP with a scalable framework for future product evolution.

Interactive Prototypes

We developed high-fidelity interactive prototypes allowing stakeholders to experience the proposed improvements before development.

This helped align product, design, and engineering teams while reducing implementation risk.

Outcome

The project delivered a clearer, more structured product experience for the ETHOS platform.

Key improvements included:

• Improved hierarchy for data-heavy screens

• Simplified workflows for frequent tasks

• Consistent UI patterns across modules

• Scalable design foundations for future development

The result is a platform that supports faster user workflows and more efficient product development.

Deliverables

• Full UX audit

• Experience optimisation roadmap

• High-fidelity interface redesign

• Component-based design system

• Interactive product prototypes