Client
Bryan Rees, Design Manager
Company
Square
Project Type
Email Design, UX Writing
Year
2021
Square
In 2020, Square experienced a significant increase in phishing scams via email (a.k.a. account takeovers). As the Risk team, we decided to target the lack of consistent design in outgoing emails to protect sellers from falling victim to phishing attacks.
In 2020, Square experienced a significant increase in phishing scams via email, resulting in millions of dollars lost by Square sellers who were unable to recover their funds. We conducted audits and discovered that a major contributing factor was the design inconsistency across emails, which was confusing for sellers and made it difficult to distinguish legitimate emails from scams. We found that there were seven different departments within the company that sent outgoing emails, each with its own unique style and design. This issue presented a significant risk, and it became clear that addressing the lack of cohesive design was critical in order to protect sellers from falling victim to phishing attacks.
The three major design inconsistencies that contributed to the problem were the varying headers, body styles, and footers (as shown below).
Email Archetypes
I collaborated with Jose, the product owner on this initiative, and we identified five major email archetypes that encompassed over 90% of outgoing email types across the company:
1) Lead Driver : Drive sellers to a landing page with the goal of converting them.
2) Instructional : Provide sellers with explicit instructions on how to complete a task.
3) Transactional : Triggered by an action taken by the seller and are used to communicate with them.
4) Letter : Contain information specific to one seller or a small group of sellers, or are sensitive in nature.
5) Operational : Update sellers on the operations of their business, including data and statistics.
By identifying these email archetypes, we were able to create a clear framework for designing and organizing all outgoing emails, resulting in a more cohesive and effective approach.
Components
With company-wide adoption in mind, we created the necessary components to construct each email archetype. I created all the necessary designs and components using Figma, and later transferred them to Contenful for faster implementation. The components for each email type are shown below. By providing a comprehensive set of components, we were able to streamline the email design process and facilitate easier adoption across the entire company.
Results
We leveraged Contenful as the headless CMS to ship these templates quickly.
Since the launch in November 2021, Square has seen a decrease in sellers getting caught in email phishing attacks (Data from January 2023).
Revenue saved from prevented chargebacks: Not provided
By providing a comprehensive set of components, the team was able to streamline the email design process and facilitate easier adoption across the entire company. There were still more opportunities for future explorations that would enhance consistency and communication with sellers. Before my contract ended with Square, I proposed two additional explorations: department headers and seller pins within emails.
Ultimately, design has the power to solve many problems, as long as it is based on transparency and consistency.
Other Projects
Let’s work together.
Creating user experiences and visually appealing design
© 2023 Mawrs LLC
Client
Bryan Rees, Design Manager
Company
Square
Project Type
Email Design, UX Writing
Year
2021
Square
In 2020, Square experienced a significant increase in phishing scams via email (a.k.a. account takeovers). As the Risk team, we decided to target the lack of consistent design in outgoing emails to protect sellers from falling victim to phishing attacks.
In 2020, Square experienced a significant increase in phishing scams via email, resulting in millions of dollars lost by Square sellers who were unable to recover their funds. We conducted audits and discovered that a major contributing factor was the design inconsistency across emails, which was confusing for sellers and made it difficult to distinguish legitimate emails from scams. We found that there were seven different departments within the company that sent outgoing emails, each with its own unique style and design. This issue presented a significant risk, and it became clear that addressing the lack of cohesive design was critical in order to protect sellers from falling victim to phishing attacks.
The three major design inconsistencies that contributed to the problem were the varying headers, body styles, and footers (as shown below).
Email Archetypes
I collaborated with Jose, the product owner on this initiative, and we identified five major email archetypes that encompassed over 90% of outgoing email types across the company:
1) Lead Driver : Drive sellers to a landing page with the goal of converting them.
2) Instructional : Provide sellers with explicit instructions on how to complete a task.
3) Transactional : Triggered by an action taken by the seller and are used to communicate with them.
4) Letter : Contain information specific to one seller or a small group of sellers, or are sensitive in nature.
5) Operational : Update sellers on the operations of their business, including data and statistics.
By identifying these email archetypes, we were able to create a clear framework for designing and organizing all outgoing emails, resulting in a more cohesive and effective approach.
Components
With company-wide adoption in mind, we created the necessary components to construct each email archetype. I created all the necessary designs and components using Figma, and later transferred them to Contenful for faster implementation. The components for each email type are shown below. By providing a comprehensive set of components, we were able to streamline the email design process and facilitate easier adoption across the entire company.
Results
We leveraged Contenful as the headless CMS to ship these templates quickly.
Since the launch in November 2021, Square has seen a decrease in sellers getting caught in email phishing attacks (Data from January 2023).
Revenue saved from prevented chargebacks: Not provided
By providing a comprehensive set of components, the team was able to streamline the email design process and facilitate easier adoption across the entire company. There were still more opportunities for future explorations that would enhance consistency and communication with sellers. Before my contract ended with Square, I proposed two additional explorations: department headers and seller pins within emails.
Ultimately, design has the power to solve many problems, as long as it is based on transparency and consistency.
Other Projects
Let’s work together.
Creating user experiences and visually appealing design
© 2023 Mawrs LLC
Client
Bryan Rees, Design Manager
Company
Square
Project Type
Email Design, UX Writing
Year
2021
Square
In 2020, Square experienced a significant increase in phishing scams via email (a.k.a. account takeovers). As the Risk team, we decided to target the lack of consistent design in outgoing emails to protect sellers from falling victim to phishing attacks.
In 2020, Square experienced a significant increase in phishing scams via email, resulting in millions of dollars lost by Square sellers who were unable to recover their funds. We conducted audits and discovered that a major contributing factor was the design inconsistency across emails, which was confusing for sellers and made it difficult to distinguish legitimate emails from scams. We found that there were seven different departments within the company that sent outgoing emails, each with its own unique style and design. This issue presented a significant risk, and it became clear that addressing the lack of cohesive design was critical in order to protect sellers from falling victim to phishing attacks.
The three major design inconsistencies that contributed to the problem were the varying headers, body styles, and footers (as shown below).
Email Archetypes
I collaborated with Jose, the product owner on this initiative, and we identified five major email archetypes that encompassed over 90% of outgoing email types across the company:
1) Lead Driver : Drive sellers to a landing page with the goal of converting them.
2) Instructional : Provide sellers with explicit instructions on how to complete a task.
3) Transactional : Triggered by an action taken by the seller and are used to communicate with them.
4) Letter : Contain information specific to one seller or a small group of sellers, or are sensitive in nature.
5) Operational : Update sellers on the operations of their business, including data and statistics.
By identifying these email archetypes, we were able to create a clear framework for designing and organizing all outgoing emails, resulting in a more cohesive and effective approach.
Components
With company-wide adoption in mind, we created the necessary components to construct each email archetype. I created all the necessary designs and components using Figma, and later transferred them to Contenful for faster implementation. The components for each email type are shown below. By providing a comprehensive set of components, we were able to streamline the email design process and facilitate easier adoption across the entire company.
Results
We leveraged Contenful as the headless CMS to ship these templates quickly.
Since the launch in November 2021, Square has seen a decrease in sellers getting caught in email phishing attacks (Data from January 2023).
Revenue saved from prevented chargebacks: Not provided
By providing a comprehensive set of components, the team was able to streamline the email design process and facilitate easier adoption across the entire company. There were still more opportunities for future explorations that would enhance consistency and communication with sellers. Before my contract ended with Square, I proposed two additional explorations: department headers and seller pins within emails.
Ultimately, design has the power to solve many problems, as long as it is based on transparency and consistency.
Other Projects
Let’s work together.
Creating user experiences and visually appealing design
© 2023 Mawrs LLC