Money Tree App
Duration: December 2022 – January 2023, 4 weeks
Tools: Figma, Google doc, Adobe Suite and Miro
Team: Self-directed, with feedback from mentor and peers
Role: UX/UI designer from conception to delivery
Deliverables: Mobile Prototype
– Project Summary –
Problems
Anxiety in young people about finance increased due to the pandemic. According to 2021 survey, 81% young adults want to learn more about money and finance such as the practicalities of managing money well, including budgeting, debt, tax and different financial products. It’s the highest result recorded since the London Institute of Banking & Finance (LIBF) first asked the question in 2016 (60%).
Solutions
Design a Money Tree app to allow young adults to access useful financial knowledge easier and reduce their anxiety. Adding functions to be able to get vouchers while playing games and quizzes makes this app more attractive to the youth. It could also help them cultivate wisdom in everyday life and help their dreams such as buying a home, starting their own business and applying for further education come true faster.
– Empathize –
I have conducted user research and competitor audits to understand the users’ problems.
User Research
I chose secondary research since the trustful vast research data was available which allows me to understand the current problems the target users are facing.
Anxiety among youth about finance has increased to 81% in 2021 from 67% in the previous year due to Covid-19 in the UK and the average student debt when they graduated from college rose from $18,550 (in 2004) to $28,950 (in 2014) in the US. According to secondary research, infusing financial education into the curriculum from an early age is very important as it allows children to acquire the knowledge and skills to build responsible financial behaviour throughout each stage of education and life. The fact found through research showed that it would be beneficial for them to try financial education if they had access to a free and easy-to-use tool to help guide them.
Competitor Audit
A competitor audit was implemented over three direct competitors of Money Tree analysing their usabilities and drawbacks in order to find the opportunities the app can fill in and design a better low-fidelity wireframe.
Persona
I found the target users’ problems to solve based on user research. Here are some typical users of the Money Tree app with their goals.
– Define –
I have defined the persona’s problem with problem statements
Problem Statements
-Ideation-
Initial Wireframe
In order to solve the problems currently the youth are facing, I have hand drawn an initial low-fidelity wireframe to fill in the gap identified in the competitor audit and turn it into a mid-fidelity wireframe. My focus was specifically on a simple and enjoyable platform to gain financial knowledge while the youth are having fun.
– Prototype and Test –
I have designed both high and low-fidelity prototypes and implemented user interviews among five participants.
User Testing Results- Affinity Diagram
Interviews were chosen to understand the actual users’ struggles and need deeper. The following results are found based on the user testing conducted with the low-fidelity prototype by interviewing five participants after completing the tasks I have asked for.
Insights
- The majority of users want an easy straightforward course path.
- Most users had a difficulty finding other tutors on the app since it was not on the menu.
- Some users preferred clear explanations of what this app is about and trading part as it may cost money.
Iteration
Based on the insights from the usability studies, I applied design changes such as providing a clear explanation of what this app is about onboarding screen.
An additional design change is adding an option to “Find another tutor” on the navigation menu so that someone who wants to learn more can find external tutors from a wide variety of subjects.
High- Fidelity Wireframe
Another Design Option
This option has not been selected as the colourful UIs could be more appealing to the users due to the age of the target users. A/B testing will be conducted further to understand actual users’ preferences.
High-Fidelity Prototype
The changes have been reflected in the final prototype based on the user testing insights.
– Final Product –
– Takeaways –
Impact:
The money app can help youth reduce the anxiety lately they are facing after the pandemic, and also could reduce the average student loan in the US after graduating from university. This app will make learning financial literacy handy and become familiar and increasing financial literacy in youth can help them live life easier and achieve their goals faster.
Feedback from My Mentor
Although she is relatively new to the product UX UI design field, as her mentor, I have observed firsthand her passion for UX/UI design and her unwavering enthusiasm for exploring new technologies and her relentless pursuit of excellence in her work.
★★★★★
What I learned:
I did not know the fact that young people are financially insecure. Some users in this research were also resistant to trading, as they may lose money and would like to have more explanations. Using casual fonts and pop design putting unnecessary underlines first for targeting young users could confuse some users as if it has a link. I have learnt that users’ perceptions differ by person, creating simple and usable UIs which does not confuse users and necessary explanation should be added.
Next Step
To keep improving the platform by iterating with user testing insights to attract users to the platform including A/B testing to understand users’ preferences. Adding gaming functions to attract youth more.