As the product designer, I led the design of two critical features: a personalized onboarding flow to boost user trust and retention and an interactive educational journey that gamified the path to financial stability. My responsibilities included user research, wireframing, prototyping, interaction design, and leveraging a design system to streamline the development process.
Users were often intimidated by financial apps, fearing judgment or misunderstanding. The lack of personalization created a disconnect, leading to low retention rates and incomplete onboarding.
Users felt overwhelmed and unsure where to start on their financial journey, resulting in stress and hesitation. They needed a structured, engaging way to build financial knowledge and confidence.
To inform the design, we conducted user interviews, surveys, and usability testing. We also collaborated with financial advisors to align app content with trusted strategies for financial management.
• Users valued personalized solutions that acknowledged their unique financial situations.
• Many users associated financial management with stress, indicating the need for an engaging, approachable experience.
• Gamification emerged as a promising way to reduce apprehension and increase engagement.
• Ideation: We brainstormed ways to make onboarding feel approachable and trustworthy. Ideas included using relatable language, custom questions about lifestyle, and small, actionable steps.
• Wireframing and Prototyping: The onboarding flow evolved through multiple iterations, focusing on a clean, friendly interface. Lifestyle questions guided users toward personalized financial plans.
• Interaction Design: Users could navigate the flow seamlessly, with progress indicators and encouraging feedback to reduce anxiety and build trust.
• Ideation: Inspired by the immersive nature of video games like The Witcher, we envisioned an interactive journey segmented into clear, manageable milestones.
• Wireframing and Prototyping: We created wireframes that visually depicted the journey, incorporating gamified elements like badges, progress bars, and achievements.
• Interaction Design: The journey offered optional starting points tailored to user comfort levels, with intuitive flows for selecting goals and tracking progress.
Moderated usability tests were conducted to evaluate both features. Users were tasked with completing the onboarding flow and exploring the educational journey.
• Educational Journey: Users initially felt limited by mandatory data entry. Introducing optional starting points increased engagement and reduced drop-offs.
• Onboarding: Users appreciated the personalized touch but wanted clearer explanations of the questions. We updated the flow with additional tooltips and example answers.
The personalized onboarding flow increased user adoption by 65%.
"The app feels like it was made just for me—it’s not one-size-fits-all."
"I love the gamified approach. It makes learning about money feel like an adventure, not a chore."
Here’s some other fun and helpful things I’ve designed.
