Biljana Kovačić Baničević

Product Designer · Stockholm

All stories

08

Lifecycle Communications

Turning fragmented transactional messages into a consistent product experience.

  • Content / Communication
  • Systems Thinking
  • Scale
  • Ownership
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01The problem

Transactional communication had grown across registration, verification, account recovery, membership and document management.

Messages differed in structure, priority and actions, creating an inconsistent experience across critical customer moments.

02How I knew

I independently audited the communication ecosystem and mapped 31 transactional email scenarios across the customer lifecycle.

The audit exposed recurring inconsistencies in hierarchy, messaging and calls to action.

03My role

I owned the UX/UI design of lifecycle communications, from the initial audit through responsive email, SMS and notification patterns.

I also worked on UX writing, independently and with a Digital Content Manager where needed.

04Key constraints

Messages varied in urgency, content and customer state, while templates had to support dynamic information and remain clear across different channels and devices.

05Design process

  1. Audit
  2. lifecycle mapping
  3. content hierarchy
  4. reusable patterns
  5. UX writing
  6. responsive design
  7. channel adaptation

I treated transactional communication as part of the product journey, not as isolated messages.

06Key decisions

I structured communication around three questions:

What happened? → What does it mean for me? → What do I need to do next?

I used shared patterns while allowing hierarchy and emphasis to adapt to each event.

07Trade-offs

A highly standardised template would simplify production but could hide important differences in urgency and required action.

I prioritised consistent structure over identical messages, allowing each scenario to emphasise what mattered most.

08Solution

A shared communication system across email, SMS and notifications, covering key lifecycle moments with consistent hierarchy, responsive patterns and clearer next actions.

  • Welcome & activation
  • Document status
  • Registration reminders
  • Membership changes

09Result

31 transactional email scenarios were mapped and brought into a more consistent communication system, creating a shared foundation across lifecycle touchpoints.

10What I’d do differently

I’d define success metrics for each message type earlier — for example, completion of the intended next action rather than email engagement alone.

That would connect communication design more directly to the product behaviour it was meant to support.