Futur

A one-stop shop mobile app for money management

Role:

UX Research, UX/UI Design

An end to end, financial management app designed to create ease for users managing their finances, weekly/monthly budgets and working towards tailored financial goals.

Duration:

10 Weeks

Project:

Academic

Tools:

Figma, InVision

With the rising cost of living, young people face growing financial challenges, making wealth-building feel out of reach. Many lack access to clear, relatable guidance on managing money, yet research shows that better financial advice could make a big difference in their lives.

Problem Space

Money doesn’t manage itself. A solid plan and budget are key to financial success. This project aims to offer a digital solution that simplifies financial planning, easing the stress of reaching your goals—even in tough economic times.

Taking a human-centred design approach, I followed the double diamond design process throughout this project.

Design Challenge

Process

Design

Process

D O U B L E D I A M O N D

Discover

  • To gain a clearer understanding of the problem space

  • To find evidence that financial education leads to financial success

  • To improve accessibility to financial advice

  • To change attitudes and taboos surrounding the topic of money

R E S E A R C H O B J E C T I V E S

2 out of 5 people say that they do not usually seek guidance when making financial decisions ¹

41%

“I often spend more than my wage”

“It’s very hard to save in this cost of living crisis”

“I’d like to be more financially stable”

“I only invest in low risk pots”

of adults agree that their life would improve if they could manage money better ¹

“I would like financial advice but I don’t want to pay a lot for it”

“I learnt how to look after my money at uni”

“I don’t want to feel too restricted with my budget”

10x

“I find my financial advice on money saving websites”

“I don’t want to have to worry about money, I just want to enjoy life”

H O W M I G H T W E . . .

U S E R S T O R I E S + E P I C S

Themes

Having a personalised budget

#1

Being able to building savings in the cost of living crisis

#2

Not knowing how to navigate the risk of investing

#3

Receiving personalised financial advice

#4

…engage young people to be more proactive with their money management?

Some users don’t have a budget or if they do they find it difficult to track their savings according to their long-term financial goals. Users find budgeting a chore and the limits of it restricting.

Users are finding it hard to save due to inflation increasing the cost of everyday items. It is difficult for people to determine which areas of spending need to be adjusted according to their spending habits and their preferences.

People know that investing is a good way to grow their wealth but are unsure about how to get into it as they feel uneducated about the risks of investing

Users do not know where to get financial advice from and struggle to find advice that is relevant to them and their situation

The average house price in London will cost you more than 10 times your salary

Data taken from a survey and qualitative workshops carried out by Britain Thinks and The Money Advice Service ¹

How do people feel about money management?

S E C O N D A R Y R E S E A R C H

There is a demand for more financial knowledge at a younger age

User Interviews + Affinity Mapping

P A I N P O I N T S

M O T I V A T I O N S

B E H A V I O U R S

Financial advice is not accessible to everyone

Managing finances through budgeting & planning is key to building wealth

Inflation + the cost of living crisis is significantly impacting financial management

“I struggle with saving and budgeting as it impedes on my sense of freedom”

1 of 5 of adults say they are not confident managing their money¹

“I don’t know how to grow wealth”

“I need to fully understand financial advice before taking it”

85%

of young adults wish they had been taught more about money management while they were at school or university ¹

22%

P R I M A R Y R E S E A R C H

65%

Define.

By condensing my researching findings into pain points, goals and behaviours I will now be able to create a persona to represent a typical target user for a digital product.

From here, I will identify areas of opportunity and intervention to execute and design a solution for.

P E R S O N A S, O P P O R T U N I T I E S

+ T A S K F L O W S

Maria

P E R S O N A

O P P O R T U N I T E S F O R I N T E R V E N T I O N

To monitor multiple bank accounts in one place

A starting point for a financial portfolio (bank accounts, loans, investments, pensions)

Personalised financial advice and budgeting for each individual user’s goals and priorities

In-app beginner friendly investment guide

T A S K F L O W

T A S K F L O W S E L E C T I O N

Many of the user stories can be grouped into epics that cover a number of different in-app functions proposed.

The task flow selected engages the user in the on-boarding process of linking bank accounts, setting up priorities for their budget and aligning their budget to a long-term financial goal

Develop.

The development stage marks the start of the design process and honing in on a solution to the problem that was defined in the first two stages.

Concept sketching, ideation and wireframing will enable me to develop the UI and visual branding for the prototype.

I D E A T I O N - W I R E F R A M I N G - P R O T O T Y P I N G

C O N C E P T S K E T C H E S

Homepage

On-boarding

Budget Page

Goal Page

L O - F I D E L I T Y W I R E F R A M E S

Solution Sketches

H O M E P A G E

O N B O A R D I N G

B U D G E T I N G

G O A L O V E R V I E W

  • Quick access to overview sections for goals, budget and savings

  • Easy access to main app functions through bottom bar or hamburger menu

  • Segregated areas of the screen to keep a minimal ad aesthetic look

  • Clear explanations of what need to be set up/next steps

  • Clear options to choose from

  • Back button so user can exit if desired

  • Simple, minimal screens, possible use of icons

  • Clear infographics showing category breakdowns

  • Clear progress bars showing status of savings and monthly budget

  • Access to bottom bar returns on this page so user can navigate elsewhere one set up is complete

  • Flexibility of week and month view

  • Flexibility of categories in budget

  • Clear display of financial goals and status

  • Access to bottom bar to navigate to other areas of the app

  • Option to view more in-depth analysis or expert advice for each goal set

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U I L I B R A R Y

Atoms + Molecules

Colour Scheme

Logo Design

App Icon Design

I D E A T I O N

I C O N D E V E L O P M E N T

  • Idea of a target relating to the goal aspect of Futur

  • 2 x Concentric circles

  • 45 degree line clockwise from the centre of the circle

  • Arrowhead at the end of the line

  • Neutral base colour for the circles

  • Abstract arrow at 45 degrees through the centre of the target

  • Arrowhead options

  • Experimenting with colour fills

  • Simple geometric logo shape

  • 3 block colours and no gradient

  • Dropped shadow for logo shape

F I N A L D E S I G N

Delivery.

Scroll to view the Hi-fi prototype

T E S T + R E L E A S E

Welcome to

Hi-fidelity Mobile App

On-boarding process

Linking mobile bank accounts with in- app verification and privacy controls

Futur’s analysis

Get an overview of your accounts and an in-depth analysis of spending habits

Setting a goal

Choose any goal to work towards, from a house deposit to a new bike

Pick your priorities

Set up to 4 main priority areas of non-essential spending

Personalised budget

Your monthly / weekly spending made easy. Lock categories to let essential outgoings look after themselves

Monitor your goals

Check in on your goals, view your trajectory and reach your targets

Hi-Fidelity Marketing Website

D E S K T O P

C L I C K T H E S C R E E N S T O V I E W

R E S P O N S I V E M O B I L E