Case Studies

Objective/Goal

The primary goals of the research were to:

• Understand how teenagers perceive and interact with financial tools.
• Identify the barriers that prevent young users from budgeting, saving, or investing.
• Explore how AI could be integrated to deliver personalized financial guidance in a friendly and intuitive way.
• Design an experience that makes managing money feel simple, engaging, and rewarding.

Research Methodology

To achieve these goals, I conducted:

1. Competitive Market Analysis: I explored existing finance apps targeting younger audiences to evaluate how they present budgeting, saving, and investing tools, especially those using AI or gamification.
2. User Interviews: I spoke with teenagers and young adults to better understand their financial behaviors, goals, and frustrations. These conversations offered valuable insights into their emotional relationship with money and the support they wish they had.

User Interviews

I spoke to individuals who fall into the following categories:

• Teenagers who are beginning to manage their own money.
• Young adults who have recently started budgeting, saving, or investing.
• Parents and educators who influence or support teens in learning financial habits.

Key Questions

This is what I found

From the user interviews, key themes emerged through affinity mapping, highlighting several pain points and needs:

User Personas

With the knowledge and insights gained through the interviews, personas were created to understand the unique qualities, preferences and behaviors of the people most likely to benefit from the website.

Point of View

1. Teenagers need a way to easily manage their finances because they often lack the tools and guidance to start budgeting, saving, and investing on their own.
2. Young adults starting out with irregular incomes need a simple, intuitive financial tool because traditional apps often feel too complicated and overwhelming for those just beginning their financial journey.
3. Users new to financial planning need personalized, actionable insights because generic advice and complex financial jargon often leave them feeling confused and disconnected from their financial goals.

How Might We?

1. How might we help teens and young adults feel more confident managing their money?
2. How might we use AI to make investing more engaging and accessible?
3. How might we reduce the intimidation of budgeting and saving for first-time users?

Site Map

To create the site map, I referred back to key insights from user research, specifically the need for simplicity, clear navigation, and always-accessible AI support. I organized the structure to prioritize core actions like budgeting, saving, and interacting with the AI assistant, while keeping the interface clean and intuitive for younger users.

Low - Mid Fidelity Wireframes

Next, I started with low-fidelity wireframes to explore different layouts and navigation options. These wireframes focused on essential features like signing in and the homepage dashboards.

High Fidelity Wireframes

I then proceeded to design high fidelity wireframes applying branding and vibrant imagery.
It is starting to look like a real app!

Usability Testing

Users easily completed tasks within the given timeframe, finding the app intuitive and well-organized. The Homepage and History were simple to navigate and understand, with the AI insights enhancing engagement.

However, based on the feedback received I made a few adjustments to the UI, check the screens below: