PinchApp is a digital platform that helps users with daily investment in gold and monitors their progress. I spearheaded the development of the MVP, a mobile application featuring a sleek and intuitive user interface, ensuring accessibility for users of all backgrounds and levels of expertise.
My role
Lead UX Designer for the app and responsive web from conception to delivery
Challenges
- Eliminate barrier to entry on the onboarding journey
- Create a seamless and easy-to-use interface
- Easy to understand and set up autopay
Responsibilities
Conducting interviews, wireframing, prototyping conducting usability studies, accounting for accessibility, iterating on designs, determining information architecture and responsive design
Project duration
April 2022 to October 2022
The goal
Based on our user research, we realised that the customers need a digital platform that can educate them and will provide a tool for them to learn about investment while they use the application.
Ideally, the platform will also enable them to easily buy and sell digital gold and auto-invest according to their financial goals while monitoring their investments.
Following that, the goal was to create a user-friendly product which is not intimidating for beginners but easy to use, and more intuitive for experienced users.
Kickoff
In this project, we took a goal-directed design approach that proved to be quite effective in our design efforts. We found quantitative research methods to be the most useful, consisting of a kickoff meeting, literature review, competitive analysis, stakeholder interviews, and most importantly our persona hypothesis construction. We started by asking ourselves some initial key questions.
"What is the product and who is it for?"
"What do our primary users need most?"
"Which users are the most important to the business?"
"What challenges could we face moving forward?"
"Who do we see as our biggest competitors?"
"What literature should we review to familiarize ourselves?"
Preliminary ideation
We used affinity mapping to identify not only the general scope of PinchApp, but also to decide which direction we wanted to take the product. This was a form of brainstorming during our kickoff period that proved to be very helpful in setting up the foundation for the rest of our process.
Meet the users
Anjali
Age: 20
Occupation: Studnet
Hometown: New Delhi
Akira is a graduate student who needs to find a platform where she can make small investments because she wants to start saving.
Arun
Age: 27
Occupation: Asst. Consultant
Hometown: Mumbai
Hrishi works for an IT firm and needs to find a way to know more about investment because he eventually wants to invest in different assets.
Creating a framework
To better understand how we would construct the core experience for PinchApp, we designed an Information Architecture. This helped us focus more on the experience and needs of the user and less so on the details that we would solidify later on. It also allowed us to communicate the entries and exits more clearly so we would have a better understanding moving forward.
Wireflow
New user
To scope out the experience, I began to create the user flow to visualise the possible solutions for each scenario. Mapping out the experience helped me figure out where each feature should live within the architecture of the app and helped me create the right product story.
Old user
Challenge 1
Onboarding of new users
We designed the onboarding journey for new users to be straightforward with less friction. We created a splash screen void of conflict and a simple three-onboarding carousel to help users understand how the application works.
Since the users needed to register their phone numbers and other personal details to use the app, it came as a challenge, therefore, we added only the top requirements from the users during the registration.
Challenge 2
Eliminating barriers
For security purposes, users are logged out of the application if it hasn’t been visited during the last 48 hours. Given this challenge, we wanted to make the onboarding of the old users to be quick with less friction. The application automatically stores the phone number that had been previously used and provides the option to log in to the application in just a few steps.
Challenge 3
Quick, simple and secure
A key factor for the design was that users needed to be able to withdraw their money any time of the day, therefore we created a simple interactive UI tool that would help users know the current value of Digital Gold and choose if they want to calculate it by grams or Rupees.
Challenge 4
Comprehending the data
We wanted the homepage to have the basic information that a user would want to know when they open the app.
We designed the different sections to have all the information to be displayed at the same time. Therefore displaying a high volume of information in a limited space was a challenge. We decided to narrow it down to the most important options and buttons. We have gone through a series of layout experiments while learning the most meaningful data to be displayed.
Challenge 5
Seamless exploration
We wanted the MVP to be as simple and easy to understand for users therefore, we made the user flow from buying gold and selling gold or adding their UPI address to be very straightforward. To help through the user journey, we created an easy-to-navigate user flow.
In addition to sorting, editing and pausing their account, we designed simple filtering and action buttons allowing them to adjust and take complete control of their transaction and investment journey.
Keeping in mind all scenarios
It's important to think about the user's point of view when creating error screens and messages. Providing clear and actionable instructions that can guide them towards a solution can make all the difference.
High-fidelity prototype
The high-fidelity prototype follows an improvied user flow as the lo-fi prototype, with design changes made after the usability study.
Takeaways
Creating PinchApp was a big learning point for me and I thoroughly enjoyed the whole process from the start till the development stage. We are still in the iteration process and presently conducting our usability study. When creating PinchApp, I had to re-visit the flow multiple times to get the user experience right and create a seamless UI that users would find easy to navigate.
I've learnt a lot while designing this app, including deeper design skills and also more about the art of investing.
Coming into the project I had very little knowledge about investment which became problematic when designing a few screens. Luckily, my product manager acted as an SMR (Subject Matter Resource) and was able to guide the direction of our process. It made me realize just how important it is to have somebody who knows A LOT about the subject of the app you are developing in order to create a well-rounded experience for both first-timers and veterans.
The app and web platform are still developing and growing. We are now in our development stage and usability study. PinchApp plans to create more features to help users, add more investment products, and improve the user experience.
Unfortunately, I am no longer with PinchApp, so I won't be able to engage in the post-design process, but from the early test we conducted, I am confident the new and improved Princh App will meet and exceed our user's expectations.
Reach out to me!
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