Square One

Listening first

I conducted in-depth interviews with 3 users (aged 18–28), all active mobile banking users managing finances daily.

Research goals:

• What makes a financial app feel welcoming vs. alienating?
• What friction points do users encounter?
• What would an ideal experience look like?

Findings were synthesized into an empathy map, surfacing deeper motivations beyond explicit answers — especially around financial confidence and the fear of being judged for not knowing enough.

Structuring the problem

Research findings were synthesized into a structured design framework across three layers.

Personas

Two behavioral personas were developed from interview data and the empathy map: a time-poor young professional with financial awareness, and a financially curious but underinformed student. Grounded in observed patterns, not demographic assumptions.

User Journey

Two complementary journey maps grounded decisions in real behavior: an app-use journey across 5 stages (onboarding, daily tasks, communication) mapping actions, thoughts, pain points, and opportunities; and a monthly financial cycle, from payday optimism to end-of-month panic. Together they revealed the core issue — not a broken screen, but a repeating stress pattern the product should help break.

How Might We:

• Make financial discovery enjoyable without oversimplifying it?
• Build emotional resonance into a functional product?
• Reward financial mindfulness in a way that feels earned, not forced?

Giving the app a character

Ideation started with competitive analysis of Revolut, Wise, OTP, and Erste — reviewing UX flows, navigation patterns, and emotional engagement strategies. Mastercard brand guidelines were also integrated.

Key decisions:

• Kami, the chameleon — introduced as the app's character, mirroring the dark/light mode behavior and adding personality without forcing emotional connection. Togglable by design.
• Loyalty program — coins gather around Kami as users save, making financial progress tangible and rewarding.
• Lo-fi wireframes from the program served as structural scaffolding, mapped with UX research decisions.

Building in dark & light

The high-fidelity prototype was built in Figma in both dark and light mode. Dark mode is the primary experience, confirmed as preferred by the target demographic. Design system highlights: teal and purple accents drawn from Kami's visual identity, grey card surfaces against a deep blue background, a clean and spacious typography system, and an animated Kami integrated into loyalty flows and onboarding.

Two rounds of feedback

Round 1 — Mentor review (3 mentors): all three supported Kami as a differentiating element; 2 of 3 preferred the togglable version over mandatory presence. Key validation: Kami belongs to the loyalty layer, not the onboarding gate.

Round 2 — Design community feedback: divided on the character, but aligned on one concern — excessive optionality creates complexity. Result: reduced decision points across the interface, with a tighter hierarchy surfacing the most important actions first.