NestEgg
Understand spending intuitively, manage your account wisely, and create your own spending plan.
NestEgg
Save money for your future
Irene Simpson
The Ambitious consumers
Goals
-
Easily track income and expenses to maintain a healthy cash flow.
-
Understand my spending preferences and manage all my expenses wisely.
-
Save more money for my future.
Pains
-
Managing money is overwhelming or time-consuming sometimes.
-
Multiple pathways of consumption are difficult to integrate.
-
Struggle to maintain consistency due to my hectic life.
-
Still have no idea of financial situation after managing budgets and recording expenses.
John Smith
Single dad under extreme financial pressure
Goals
-
Record the income and expenses wisely and avoid unnecessary spend.
-
Money has to be safe, customer service has to be reliable.
-
Save more money, preferably with a minimum amount.
Pains
-
The unexpected spending leads to overspending mostly.
-
Manually link multiple bank account.
-
No clear money saving goals and need some guidance.
-
Unable to make a reasonable plan on the budget of each category.
Problem Statement
Work professionals between the ages of 20-45 are hardly manage their money properly and can’t maintain managing consistency, which always lead to be unable to save any money and overspend. This can cause a lot of inconvenience in the moment of future expenses and emergencies.
Getting to know the users
User research and competitive analysis
We've researched through behavioral observation, web analytics, interviews to summarise the common problems people are experiencing with managing their money today.
Pain #1: Multiple payment methods make it difficult to track activities
Pain #2: Can't manage budget scientifically, which often leads to overspending
Pain #3: Do not have a clear perception of spending situation
What success would look like
Project Goals
We came up with the following solutions according to the pains users are facing.
Solution #1: Automatically record and categorise all expenses by tying up bank accounts
Solution #2: Give report every month, Visualising consumption
Solution #3: Set a budget limit of each category and a goal for saving money
How would it work
Aggregation Method
In the final stage of planning, we outlined the method of how to aggregate the multi-method of paying, especially the payment in cash. Due to the difficulties of classifying each expense.
Bring it all together
Design & Prototype
With our goals, features and processes mapped we moved into the next phase of actually building the information architecture, figure out the general flow of the application.
Then I built the app starting with some rough sketches. I combined all the sketched screens onto one board so that were able to see and adjust user flows and navigation quickly.
After this I took all of sketched screens into Figma to bring them to life in mid-fidelity form. In each iteration, the app's functionality was streamlined to the point where assumptions could be tested and allow time to implement testing insights.
This is an excellent example of a design evolution for the scan function. Initially, I believed it was logical to place the function under 'Activity.' However, positioning the button on the homepage proves to be significantly more convenient for users.
Trying it out in the real world
User Testing
Fifteen people were tested from the user's perspective. Participants were able to find what they needed easily and found that the process that adding a new goal was simple and straightforward.
There were two main adjustments needed:
Change #1 - Scan
Manual modification
Testers reported that in the initial release, there was no clear distinction between modified and unmodified information after manually modifying incorrect scan results. So in the later version, I added icon to the original to distinguish the two.
Change #2 - Colour
Accessibility
We found that two of the users who participated in the test were red-green colour blind. This means that the initial green colour was not completely suitable for all users. In the end, we chose the most common colour-blind-friendly blue as the main colour.
Polishing a gem
High fidelity designs
After thorough evaluation, I selected the most suitable system and proceeded with developing the high-fidelity prototype.
The process involved multiple testing phases, iterative refinements, and user feedback integration to enhance functionality and usability. Each iteration addressed identified issues, ensuring optimal performance. After rigorous validation and refinement, the final prototype was successfully established, meeting design and performance requirements.
Bringing the whole project to life
Interaction Design
After the UI team gave our mid-fidelity prototype a facelift I animated the prototype so that it was a closer reflection of how our users would use the app.
Founction #1 - Scan
Scan your receipt
The software's scanning feature automatically extracts the contents of the user's receipts and automatically categorises and records them. This greatly reduces the time wasted by users in managing their money and improves efficiency.
Function #2 - Transaction Detail
Visualize your activities
By viewing the details of their spending records, users can get a clearer picture of their spending. The user's consumption expenditure is displayed in the form of charts and updated in real time.
Function #3 - Plan
Manage your plan
Users can set their financial goals and each task is clearly listed. Users can clearly know the completion status of each financial plan and can set up automatic storage in the system.
Design system
I refered to the common design systems and trends in the market, after processing and altering the fonts, colours and components, I got the current design system.
Design Reflection
In this project, I learned that truly understanding the user’s pain points is the foundation of effective design. For example, during user interviews, I discovered that traditional budgeting tools are annoying our users. Because they are required manual input and lacked clear visual feedback. This insight guided me to prioritize features like automated expense categorization and interactive spending charts, which made the app more approachable and less intimidating.
This project also taught me the importance of balancing simplicity with functionality in fintech design. Through user testing, I discovered that clear visualizations, such as buttons and cta, significantly improved user engagement and understanding.
For next steps, I plan to conduct further usability testing with a broader audience to identify edge cases and refine the app’s accessibility features. I also aim to explore AI-driven personalization to provide tailored budgeting advice.
If I were to redesign the app, I would integrate gamification elements to encourage consistent user engagement. Overall, this project reinforced the value of user-centric design in creating impactful fintech solutions.