CATEGORYInternal Site
ROLEProduct Designer
CLIENTYEARMorgan Stanley
2025
“MS Connect”, a long-standing portal within the Morgan Stanley ecosystem for more than a decade, received a visual refresh to align with the firm’s ‘One Firm’ initiative. The update modernized the site’s look and feel while preserving its established structure and functionality, ensuring consistency across Morgan Stanley’s digital channels and improving user experience without disrupting familiar workflows.
This project marked a pivotal shift in brand and design across the sales division as one of the first sites refreshed under the new design system.
FEATURE ONECompany Map
During discovery I learned the tool was being used beyond its original intent as an internal LinkedIn. Teams relied on it as a quick reference to understand a client’s company structure.
The prior site included a company map; for this iteration I enhanced the visuals and introduced a side panel to improve context and navigation. The prototype shown here features top tabs for accessing each section, making it easier to switch views while keeping the map and details immediately available.
FEATURE TWOConnection Strength
Strength levels come from both the system and manual changes. I worked with Compliance to add help text explaining how strength is calculated per user feedback, and I improved the interaction for editing connection strength in My Connections.
FEATURE THREETeam Structure
Context was one of the most requested features during requirements gathering. Users wanted confidence they were contacting the optimal person. To address that, I added a dedicated team section so users could quickly see whether they might be duplicating outreach or contacting multiple members of the same team. That addition was among the most praised by users. Because the tool is often used beyond its original scope, the team section also provides a simple glimpse of an org chart.
A separate container layout rather than tabs was used to preserve a holistic view that keeps context and team information visible at a glance.
