School of Whales
Client
School of Whales
Role
UX/UI Designer
Type
Fintech Web App
Web Portal
Timeline
Mar - May 2022
Introduction
School of Whales, a fintech startup, was launched in June 2021. It is a crowdfunded investing platform that allows anyone to invest in commercial real estate for as little as $500. The platform was founded with the idea of democratizing commercial real estate investing by providing an easy and accessible way for people to grow their money.
My main goal was to optimize the user experience of the School of Whales investing platform, by redesigning the investment flow and investor portal.
My tasks included heuristic evaluation, testing, user research, user flows and information architecture, wire-framing, interaction design, prototyping, UI design, and mobile optimization.
Services
Problem
The primary issue with the School of Whales investment process was its overwhelming amount of information at each step, causing user frustration. Furthermore, the lack of transparency and unprofessional appearance contributed to a sense of distrust among users. Moreover, many users expressed frustration with the lack of intuitiveness and functionality in the investor portal, hindering their ability to successfully achieve their goals.
Solution
Simplify the investment process by breaking it down into manageable tasks, reducing complexity and overwhelm. Focus on improving transparency and clarity ensuring users feel informed and confident at every step of the flow. Redesign the user/investor dashboard interface prioritizing clear and intuitive navigation and functionality, enabling users to effortlessly access information and perform desired actions. Additionally, enhance the visual hierarchy and aesthetics of the dashboard to create an engaging user experience.
The first step in the redesign process involved conducting thorough user research, heuristic evaluation and usability testing of the current platform. This initiative aimed to identify existing pain points experienced by users, providing valuable insights that will inform subsequent design decisions. By understanding the challenges users face, the redesign can focus on addressing these issues effectively, ultimately enhancing the platform's usability and user experience.
After synthesising and analysing user responses and testing data, I identified the top frustrations and desires, which then helped me develop a user persona that the product aimed to solve problems for:
I've identified several usability issues with the current platform and prioritized them based on severity. Now, armed with a deeper understanding of user pain points and needs, I'm ready to dive into the information architecture and redesign process.
Among addressing all the other identified pain points and usability issues with the current interface, I placed particular emphasis on restructuring the investment flow. By breaking down the overwhelming three-step process into twelve bite-sized, digestible steps, I aimed to alleviate information overload and create a more intuitive and user-friendly experience.
As for the dashboard, I prioritized meeting users' needs by integrating essential functionality required for successful goal accomplishment, specifically, enabling them to easily and effectively manage and update their accounts. Additionally, I focused on simplifying navigation to enhance intuitiveness and streamline the user experience.
Recognizing the importance of mobile optimization, I ensured the system was accessible across all devices, empowering users to invest and manage their finances conveniently from anywhere.
Working in an early-stage startup was an extremely steep learning curve. It was an eye-opening experience that taught me a lot about being lean and knowing when and where to focus your energy and efforts.
Some key takeaways from this project are:
- Focus on building an MVP. In a startup, there is only so much time and effort that you can invest (especially when you're working full time!) so it's important to focus on the features that can deliver the highest value for your users.
- Don't worry too much about the detail. Earlier in my journey, I made the mistake of worrying about the look of the UI. Taking a step back and reassessing the user flows helped me to reprioritize the UX.
- Focus on the problem. At the end of the day, it is your users pains that you will be solving for so keeping that front of mind is important as it's easy to lose sight of this when you're bogged down in the day to day.
Thank you for reading through! I hope you enjoyed learning about my design and thought process :)
