CONNECT FINANCE APP; FOR GEN Z

As Gen Z enters adulthood, their enthusiasm for independence is often overshadowed by financial anxiety, resulting in reluctance towards utilizing credit cards and taking out student loans. Our app "Connect" is designed to alleviate this issue by fostering a supportive community focused on financial education.

UI/UX Design
November 2023
Tools : Figma
Roles: Researcher, Mobile UI/UX Designer, Prototyper
Collaborators: Charley Gracie

The Case Study

The Problem

While Gen Z is often perceived as tech-savvy, their reluctance to download finance apps stems from a significant lack of financial confidence. Addressing this issue requires the development of a finance app that provides educational resources and fosters community engagement.

Research

Our journey began by examining potential competitors, but we were admittedly unsure about the specific financial service we intended to offer. After exploring various services such as online banking, robo advisors, and advice forums, we had a clear understanding of the industry but remained unsure of Gen Z's preferences. This prompted further investigation into the relationship between Gen Z and finances. A notable find was that 95% of Gen Z participants in a study advocated for financial literacy in schools, yet only 8% felt highly knowledgeable about personal finance topics. Additionally, only 33% of Gen Z owned credit cards (in comparison to 60% of millennials), with many citing concerns about accumulating debt.

Following this research, we conducted a survey targeting Gen Z's financial concerns, revealing a widespread feeling of being uneducated in terms of finance and a preference for advice from friends and family over AI. Though we were initially considering incorporating AI, this survery made us pivot towards a community-driven approach, providing access to forums and educational resources instead of traditional financial management systems like Chime or Wealthfront. With a clear direction of the project, we developed personas based on three key needs: seeking a supportive community, pursuing financial independence, and enhancing financial literacy.

Based on our research, the 4 core pillars of our brand were formed: supportive, empowering, fulfilling, and trustworthy. We believed that these terms reflected our intention to develop a mobile app that is community-driven and financially empowering.

Process Overview

With a clear vision of our financial app's purpose, we crafted moodboards exploring various design directions—from trendy Gen Z aesthetics to traditional financial app styles. We ultimately gravitated towards UI examples featuring a welcoming green palette and friendly design elements. These insights paired with our core pillars informed our creation of a stylescape, where our original name 'Coinnect' can be seen. However, it was simplified to 'Connect' based on user feedback.

Building upon our refined brand vision, we carefully crafted a branding guide to solidify our identity. We outlined guidelines for voice, tone, color, typography, iconography, and logo, though adjustments were made along the way.

Transitioning to user-centric planning, we defined the key jobs to be done for our mobile app through visual representations and developed three personas reflecting diverse user needs. These personas enriched our understanding of how our app's features addressed varied user requirements.

The following week, we formulated a comprehensive content strategy for the landing page while presenting initial wireframes for both the landing page and mobile app.

Over subsequent weeks, diligent work on the landing page and mobile app ensued. Collaborating closely, we provided each other feedback to ensure consistency across both deliverables. The final landing page, expertly crafted by Charley, featured the refined logo design.

Following approval of wireframes, I delved into developing mobile app screens in Figma, overcoming initial learning barriers through tutorial watching and simultaneous prototype development. With Charley's support in the final week before our presentation, additional screens were seamlessly integrated to explore monetization avenues.

Culminating our 10-week journey, we showcased our polished product and elucidated our iterative design process in the final presentation

The Logo

Stylescape

Branding

JTBD

Landing Page

Mobile App

The Solution

To address the challenge of Gen Z's reluctance to download finance apps due to a lack of financial confidence, our solution is to develop a comprehensive finance app called Connect. Connect offers a user-friendly interface centered around community and education.Connect features community forums and interactive learning options where users can engage with peers and participate in gamified financial education activities. By combiningeducationall tools with community-driven learning, Connect aims to empower Gen Z users to build financial confidence and improve their financial literacy skills.