Methods: Research Audit, Stakeholder Interviews, Competitive Analysis, User Interviews, Participatory Design, Persona Building, Low to Hi Fidelity Prototyping, A/B Testing, Interaction Design, Product Design, Usability Testing, Branding
Sign-Up Prototype: http://gwiqkv.axshare.com/#c=2
THE CHALLENGE
Disrupting the Investment World
2100Inc. was created with the goal of helping investors change the world by infusing their social values into their financial decisions. However, the current market landscape is filled with a generation of idle investors who do not trust the investment world. They are confused by the advice they receive from experts and the jargon surrounding the industry, and they find investing an unaffordable expense.
Team Members: Megan Burke Harris, Brian Austin, Greg Carlson
THE SOLUTION
A Foundational System To Promote Growth
A Persona who would be the first adopter, and a target user for any research and testing.
Mobile App Features that combine micro-investing and impact investing.
A Landing Page to gather potential first adopters and provide transparency to the product.
A Sign-Up Process that gives users insight into the product's intention and potential offerings.
THE DISCOVERY
Competitive Analysis
In order to better understand what users wanted and needed from investment products, my team and I conducted a competitive analysis. We were able to gain insights into the different kinds of offerings and sign-up/onboarding processes that the current online investment world had. We found many commonalities in the ways these products provided engagement, gained their user's trust, and made their products easy to use. We were also able to identify design and language patterns, all of which were key insights into how we moved forward with our product,
User Interviews & Participatory Design
We next conducted interviews with paper prototypes to find user’s motivations and needs when it came to investment and social impact. Through this we were able to understand what users felt was currently missing in the investment world, and their thoughts and feelings towards creating social impact and what it would mean to invest in it. Our biggest takeaways were the need for a low barrier to entry, ease of use, transparency and credibility, and the desire for customization and compelling stories.
““
I set it and forget it.”
““
[I need] more information about the customization.”
““
What partners are involved?”
““
The less I can think about it, the better.”
““
[I want] something that makes me feel confident, without any jargon”
User Persona
We used this information to build a target user that would be an early adopter to the product. This persona's main goal is to be able to financially support her personal causes and see the effects of her contributions. However, she is frustrated by the fact that she cannot find trusted information on how to do this, doesn't have a tool where she can full control her investments, and isn't confident she has a full understanding of the industry language.
THE RESULT
Mobile App Features
With our target user persona in mind, we prototyped features that could potentially meet the goals and address the frustrations there were present with the current investment world. We made sure to include personalization, plain language, storytelling, transparency, and control. I worked specifically on the logo design, and helped create the branding and style guide for the product we were now calling Changewell.
Landing Page
Changewell's landing page was designed to be responsive and included a lot of the information users asked for during our interview sessions. We made sure to include positive messaging and imagery, along with descriptions of what Changewell is and what it does, how and why it works, and supporting data and stories that would build trust. Users could take action by giving their email to receive notifications and more information about Changewell when it launched.
Sign-Up Process
Users could also take further action by going through a sign-up process that would give them deeper insights into how Changewell worked. The questions we ask during the process came directly from what users said they expected of an investment product during our interviews. It also takes into account the amount of customization users wanted for the social impact side. It also provides them with a sample portfolio that could use to better understand who they are as an investor and what they can expect from the product when it launches.