Mindful Moola

Project Duration

June 2023 (2 weeks)

Product

Mindful Moola is a personal finance app to help teens build money management skills without sacrificing meaningful experiences.

Problem

Many financial tools for teenagers focus primarily on maximizing savings. This creates a culture of guilt around spending on experiences or things that would otherwise foster connection and fulfillment.

My Role

UX designer, researcher

Responsibilities

User research, competitive audit, conducting interviews, paper and digital wireframing, low and high-fidelity prototyping, conducting usability studies, iterating on designs and responsive design

PROJECT OVERVIEW

Understanding the User

Persona 1: Nirdesh

Nirdesh is a 17-year-old high school student who is looking for comprehensive financial guidance to shift to a healthier perspective on money.

Persona 2: Juana

Juana is a 16-year-old high school student who is looking for daily financial guidance to help her hit long-term goals.

Lo-fi Prototyping

I prototyped a profile set-up flow to walk new users through app features.Mindful Moola’s lo-fi prototype

Starting the Designs

Study type:
‍Unmoderated usability study

Participants:
5 participants

Location:
USA, remote

Length:
15-30 minutes

Usability Study Parameters

Card & Cash

Users wanted cash transactions to be integrated into the app

Link Cards

Users were not able to find the page to link their cards/bank accounts

Paid Chores

Users wanted the ability to turn off paid chores or to turn them into tasks/jobs

Usability Study Findings

Ideation

I explored different approaches to help users develop a healthy relationship with money built upon celebration and well-being instead of shame and stringency. Daily spending limits are reframed as goals. Streaks help users build positive habits and confidence.

Refining the Designs

Mockups: Budget

I created an option for users to input cash transactions while setting up their budget.

After usability study

Before usability study

Mockups

After usability study

Before usability study

Mockups: Chores

I also included a button to switch the chores to tasks/jobs or turn it off completely. The turn off option is hidden under the switch to jobs option.

High-Fidelity Prototype

The high-fidelity prototype incorporates feedback from the usability study and adds the following accessibility considerations:

Focal Points

Size and emphasis establish visual hierarchy

Labels and Icons

All interactive elements are elevated

Text Hierarchy

Page titles are H1 and card titles are H2 to help assistive technologies read the page

Mindful Moola’s Hi-Fi prototype

Responsive Website Design

Sitemap

The financial planning tool and app overview are the main focal points of the accompanying website. Mindful Spending shows potential users a personalized financial plan, while the app page shows how its features bridge the gap between users and their ideal financial future.

Mindful Moola: Website Homepage for Mobile

Responsive Designs

I initially designed the website for mobile and eventually scaled and optimized the designs to fit larger screens.

Moving Forward

Next Steps

Conduct user and market research to identify further areas for improvement.

Conduct a usability test on the hi-fi prototypes to make sure that recent improvements addressed issues properly.

What I Learned

Remaining flexible and open to making adjustments led to significant improvements in the designs and function of Mindful Moola despite how challenging it was to undo or rework parts of the project I thought were finished.