Focal

Your financial literacy pal!

Motivated by our own personal experience, my team and I wanted to investigate the lack confidence in financial literacy as an adult.

How might we bridge the gap for users in financial literacy to help empower confident decision-making for personal finances? 

Role
UX Designer & Researcher, Graphic Designer

Year
Spring 2025

Skills/Tools
Figma, Miro, Design Thinking, User Research, User Interviews, Iterative Design, User Testing, Wireframing, Prototyping

The Problem

How might we bridge the gap for users in financial literacy to help empower confident decision-making for personal finances?

In our initial research, we scoured the internet for articles regarding personal finances and how people felt about it. Among the pack, we found that there exists a clear and overwhelming feeling towards understanding one's own finances.  

75% of American teens admitted to a lack of confidence in their knowledge of personal finance (Annuity.org, 2023).

The Research

We conducted a series of research methods to gain better insights on who our target users are and how they feel about their own experience with financial literacy.

Once we synthesizes the feedback and results, we identified a few key findings to help us establish the list of solution and design requirements.

  • Pulse Check

  • Surveys

  • Interviews

  • Competitive Analysis

Pulse Check Survey

The goal of this preliminary survey was to assess the people’s baseline understanding and knowledge of financial literacy and financial independence. The insights gathered from these initial responses were instrumental in shaping the design of our more comprehensive survey questions. We asked the following questions:

  1. What is financial literacy to you?

  2. What is financial independence to you?

  3. Which financial topic do you believe you currently lack knowledge in but recognize as crucial for your financial well-being? 

Survey

The survey was designed with 10 multiple-choice questions that evaluated respondents' background information, their financial knowledge, key financial priorities and stressors, areas of financial interest, and their favored ways of acquiring financial advice.

Key Survey Insights!

✦ Participants Prioritize Long-term Financial Stability

✦ Financial Uncertainty Drives Stress

✦ Personal Connections Influence Financial Discovery

✦ Expediency is Key in Seeking Financial Information

Interviews

We selected 14 participants from the survey who expressed interest in providing further input. The interview questions were crafted based on the initial survey findings to delve into the participants’ backgrounds, their financial priorities and stressors, previous experience with financial products, and preferred ways for obtaining financial knowledge. These interviews allowed us to gather nuanced information, enabling a richer, more comprehensive understanding of our users' behavior and preferences.

We synthesized the interview responses through an affinity mapping exercise, which helped us identify a few common themes (highlighted below).

Based on our synthesis exercise, we identified six key insights based on what we heard from our users. These insights (listed below) also helped us further understand the gaps in current financial literacy solutions and resources.

Key User Insights!

✦ Preference for human assistance

✦ Focus on future financial planning

✦ Desire for gamified learning

✦ Distinction between education v.s. advice

✦ Importance of credibility

✦ Ease of access

Competitive Analysis

Our key findings included observations about approachability, interactivity, breadth and depth of information, variety in modality, and the social/community engagement component.

These findings are key as it shows potential correlations between the willingness to use the service based on the opportunity to engage on some personal level as well as ease of understanding the content. Below is a snapshot of the in-depth analysis we did for each competitor.

Design & Iteration

Our in-depth research informed an initial list of prioritized design requirements of our design solution. We also created an empathy map to help us better understand our user’s emotional needs.

Design Requirements

Must haves & should haves

  • Facilitate financial education

  • Facilitate long-term planning

  • Empower users/give sense of control

  • Expedient/accurate information

Could & will maybe have

  • Personalization

  • Share/engage with like minded people

  • Practice new knowledge

  • Balance breadth and depth

  • Interactivity/engagement

Empathy Map

We used the empathy map below to better understand our users and the specific needs they have in financial literacy. It identifies what users think, do, feel, and say along their journey while defining the pain points along the way.

Design Concepts

For our final design iteration, we primarily focused on implementing the AI-powered experience (Concept C), incorporating incorporating elements from the other concepts such as personal input on preferences and learning goals (Concept A), and community-driven interactions (Concept B).

This strategic amalgamation will enable us to create a comprehensive and dynamic platform that not only educates users on financial topics but also fosters collaboration and engagement within a supportive community environment.

Lo-Fi Design & Usability Testing

During this phase of the project, we designed a lo-fidelity prototype and conducted a heuristic analysis, first-click test, and usability test to help inform our high-fidelity design decisions.

First-Click Test

For the first-click test (FCT), there were 28 participants who completed the activity. We created seven prompts for this test that users would interact with by clicking on the screen where they believed was the appropriate location to complete the task. The images below are from the FCT that show some of the results of our findings.

Our key findings were on the dashboard and community pages. For both, users had varying interpretations when it came to identifying the "correct" place to go for given tasks, per these heat maps.

The following are a few of the key changes for the next design iteration based on our findings from the user testing we conducted!

Dashboard Page‍

✦ Differentiating the nuances between resources, courses, and news

✦ Adding tags and more context on tiles

‍Community Page

✦ Better wayfinding

✦ Call to action button for making a posts and more context on tiles

What we found:‍

✦ Users had a hard time reading the text in the "Professional Insights" section. 

✦ Users tried to edit their profile photo directly from the main Profile page instead of going to the "Personal profile" section.

✦ Users expressed different preferences regarding the frequency of games during the learning session, without noticing they could adjust the game frequency on the Profile page.

What we implemented:

✦ Enhancement of visual elements during the onboarding process

✦ Inclusion of "Other" and "Select All" options for onboarding queries

✦ Implementation of informative prompts on the game and quiz page regarding customization

✦ Integration of a feature within the preference/setting page allowing users to adjust the app's font size.

Usability Test

After iterating on the results of our unmoderated FCT, we conducted moderated, think-aloud usability testing, which provided us with a variety of insights which were implemented into modifications. These were largely related to accessibility, quick actions, and discoverability.

Final Design & Demo!

The final design of our product is a seamless, engaging result of the extensive research, thoughtful design, and deep empathy for our users. Our design process was not just about aesthetics or functionality, but about creating an experience that resonates with users on an emotional level.

By grounding our decisions in thorough research, we ensured that every feature aligns with their needs in gaining confidence in financial literacy!

  • Up first, the onboarding flow, which introduces users to the AI buddy, Zeke! Following the questionnaire, users are presented with a curated list of courses to select from based on the information they’ve provided.Description text goes here

  • Following onboarding, users are brought to their dashboard, which shows courses they’re enrolled in, relevant news, and relevant resources based on the background information and interests selected.

  • Description text goes here

  • The learning flow offers a vast selection of activities and capabilities such as browse videos, definitions, quizzes, and small games. Users can also save notes and definition cards which can be viewed under the user's profile. Description text goes here

  • Users can manage settings, view saved resources, track engagement metrics like learning streaks and completed courses, and see earned achievements. It provides a snapshot of their activity and accomplishments within the app.

  • The community feature facilitates users to share, post, discuss, and view real input from both community members and professionals!

  • Lastly, is our AI-Buddy feature! Based on our research, we understand that each user has unique financial goals and preferences. Thus, by chatting with the AI Buddy, our system analyzes this data to provide recommendations that resonate with individual needs.

    We also carefully considered the behavior of the AI-Buddy to avoid it overshadowing other app features. Boundaries were implemented to maintain balance. For instance, instead of always providing direct answers, our AI Buddy will direct users to features on our app such as community or course page.

Social Impact!

By providing a personalized educational platform that includes multiple ways of accessing information, we can best increase our users’ financial literacy fundamentals.

✦ East financial stress

✦ Plan for future growth

✦ Gain confidence in financial stance

What’s next for Focal?

Throughout this process, we are committed to emphasizing the need for engaging, empowering solutions that help users feel confident in their financial independence. By providing accessible tools and resources, we aim to inspire a sense of control and self-assurance in managing personal finances, fostering lasting financial literacy and empowerment.

We would like to conduct further research and testing to fine-tune both our design and user persona. Collaboration with financial professionals would also be key in refining our educational content, ensuring its accuracy and relevance.

Finally, a strategic focus on monetization will enable us to transform our product into a sustainable business, laying the groundwork for its continued growth and success of our users interested in learning more about their own financial well-being!