Innovating Financial Futures: A Fintech App for Gen Z by TIAA
Our team designed a fintech app for TIAA targeting Gen Z, focusing on retirement savings education through gamification. By incorporating rewards, challenges, and progress tracking, we made learning engaging and motivating. This innovative approach earned us 2nd place in the hackathon, showcasing our compelling UI design and effective strategy. The experience honed our skills in quick decision-making, efficient collaboration, and adaptive problem-solving.
Challenge
Results
Won 2nd Prize in the Hackathon: Our team achieved second place, validating our innovative approach and effective gamification strategy.
Great Compelling UI Design: We created a visually appealing, intuitive interface that engaged Gen Z users and enhanced their learning experience.
Learning to Work in a Fast-Paced Environment: The hackathon honed our skills in quick decision-making, efficient collaboration, and adaptive problem-solving under tight deadlines.
Process
Day 1: Preparation and Planning
Understand the Challenge
Define project goals and objectives, focusing on educating Gen Z about retirement savings through an engaging app.
Establish clear roles and responsibilities, with a focus on collaboration between UX/UI designers and developers.
Research and Brainstorming
Conduct research on Gen Z preferences, behaviors, and challenges related to financial literacy.
Hold team meetings to generate creative ideas and concepts for the app's gamification and educational features.
Day 2: Competitor Analysis and Gamification Feature Study
Competitor Analysis
Analyze existing fintech apps targeting young users to identify strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for differentiation.
Compare various gamification strategies used by competitors to understand what works best in engaging users.
Gamification Feature Study
Explore different gamification techniques and their potential impact on user engagement and learning.
Develop a multiverse-inspired narrative where users can explore different future scenarios based on their financial decisions.
Day 3: Design, Prototyping, and Finalization
Design and Prototyping
Create wireframes to outline the app's layout and user flow.
Design a visually appealing interface tailored to Gen Z, incorporating intuitive navigation and interactive elements.
Develop interactive prototypes to test and refine the app's user experience and functionality.
Collaboration and Iteration
Work closely with the development team to ensure seamless integration of design elements and features.
Continuously gather feedback from team members to iterate and improve the design simultaneously.
Finalization and Presentation
Prepare and present the app to the hackathon judges, highlighting its innovative approach, design quality, and user engagement potential.
Why this color scheme?
I used this color scheme of dark with neon accents to align with the preferences and trends often associated with Gen Z. This demographic tends to appreciate bold, vibrant colors that convey energy and excitement. The neon-like accents on a dark background were chosen to create a futuristic and gamified feel, making the retirement planning app more engaging for a younger audience who might connect better with a game-like experience rather than a traditional, more subdued financial app.
However, while the color scheme is visually striking, I made sure it also supports readability and usability. Here are the considerations I took into account:
Contrast and Readability:
I ensured enough contrast between the text and the dark background for readability, especially for smaller fonts and critical information. I used white or light-colored text while carefully selecting neon colors to maintain accessibility for users with visual impairments.
Emotional Resonance:
Neon colors were chosen to create a sense of dynamism and progress. Green symbolizes success or savings, and orange indicates alertness. I was careful with colors like red to avoid negative connotations, especially in financial contexts.
Consistency and Balance:
I kept the color scheme consistent across the app to avoid cognitive overload, using neon accents strategically to highlight key areas while balancing them with neutral tones in less critical sections.
“ With our new visual branding and language in place, the new Shopify brand clearly captures the essence of our current and target customer base, our employees, and our values. ”
Tobias Lütke
CEO, Co-founder | Shopify
Conclusion
The StreamLine mobile banking app redesign successfully addressed the usability issues, resulting in a more intuitive and user-friendly experience. The improved UX/UI design led to increased user adoption, engagement, and satisfaction, demonstrating the value of a well-designed template for UX designers.