How I took a savings app from concept to tested prototype in 4 weeks — designing for solo savers, families, and first-time investors through end-to-end research, iteration, and moderated usability testing.
Overview
Project duration:
06/25 - 08/25
My role:
Product Designer (End-to-End)
Tools:
Chat GPT, Figma, Figma Slides, Miro, Canva
The product:
Stash is a mobile app that enables users of all ages to save for personal or shared goals. It addresses the isolation of individual saving and the lack of transparency in informal group pots by providing clear progress tracking, shared accountability, gentle nudges, and a friendly, human tone. The result is a structured yet enjoyable saving experience that works for one person or an entire family.
Core focus: make saving reliable, social, and stress-free.
The Problem
Most people fail to reach their savings goals because saving feels lonely, boring, and disconnected from everyday spending; tracking expenses is either overwhelming or completely detached from those goals; and when they try to save with family or friends, the process turns chaotic, opaque, and unreliable due to lack of transparency, commitment, and gentle accountability.
The Goal
Design a mobile app that enables people to consistently reach their personal and shared savings goals by making expense tracking intuitive, saving social and transparent, and the entire process motivating and stress-free.
E M P A T H I Z E
Step into the users' shoes
Competitive Audits
Danna's Notes One user told me during interviews: “I want to learn investing, but it feels scary—like gambling with my future.” That hit hard. So I built these personas from real stories, surveys, and behaviors, bringing to life the beginners, the cautious savers, and the curious young adults who need Stash to feel approachable yet trustworthy.
User Pain Points
Lack of commitment and transparency in group savings
Participants frequently drop out of group savings, and there’s little visibility into what others are actually contributing.
Tracking expenses and contributions is tedious and time-consuming
Manually monitoring spending and savings progress feels exhausting; users need this process to be fully automated for the habit to be sustainable long-term.
Disorganization and lack of control over personal finances
Many users feel their personal finances are chaotic and struggle to keep track of income, expenses, and savings goals.
Users would like to increase their income gradually
Users wish to grow their income incrementally from their phone — through small, manageable actions like microinvestments or side gigs — without the burden of a second job.”
D E F I N E
Frame the real problem
User Journey Map
I D E A T E
Brainstorm the unexpected
Sitemap
Danna's Notes Stash packs a lot: daily challenges, bite-sized lessons, real investing tools. Early on I sketched chaotic versions, then refined this clean hierarchy so users can jump from “learn basics” to “try your first trade” effortlessly—keeping education progressive and finances feeling safe and structured.
User Flow
Danna's Notes The moment someone decides “today I invest” can’t be clunky. I traced smooth paths for onboarding, daily quests, and high-stakes decisions like linking a bank account, stripping away friction in sensitive spots while letting the game-like rewards shine—turning potential drop-offs into confident “I got this” moments.
Wireframes
Paper & Digital
I crafted these low-fidelity wireframes by starting with hand-sketched ideas on paper, then digitizing them to explore layout possibilities and evaluate usability early on. This rapid iteration process allowed me to refine concepts efficiently, ensuring the foundation for a user-centered design that truly resonates.
P R O T O T Y P E
From concept to reality
Hi-Fi Key Screens
I designed these high-fidelity mockups by deeply integrating user needs uncovered through surveys and research, translating insights into visually compelling interfaces. By focusing on intuitive navigation and aesthetic appeal, also it was crucial for me to strike the perfect balance: making users feel the excitement and fun of a game while treating every financial topic with the seriousness, respect, and care it truly deserves.
T E S T I N G
Learn from real users
Usability Study
Over two days in November, I invited five real users for a moderated session. I watched them complete tasks in Stash—like starting a group savings challenge or exploring investment basics—while asking them directly: “Is this intuitive? Does it feel like a game? Does it motivate friendly competition? What helps you save the most?”
One user hesitated during onboarding and said, “I love the idea of improve my income, but I have no idea about invest and I got confused about where my money actually goes.” That honest moment highlighted mistakes I had made in labeling and flow. Thanks to those sessions, I spotted small but critical errors in sensitive financial moments. Those insights let me fix friction points quickly, making Stash feel simpler, more engaging, and truly respectful of users’ money concerns.
affinity map
Findings
Many users felt excluded from the investment features
Most participants told me they felt intimidated by the investments section because they didn’t have much prior knowledge or experience. It made the app feel like it wasn’t really for them. To fix this, I added an onboarding survey that quickly sorts users into two groups: those who already invest and those who want to learn. Experienced users jump straight into their performance dashboard, while beginners get a friendly educational hub filled with short, easy-to-digest lessons, tutorials, and guided steps. This way, the app truly helps everyone grow their money — some through active investing, others through learning first.
Language was holding people back
Even though I had designed the icons to be intuitive, users who don’t speak English found the interface hard to approach and use comfortably. I solved this by creating a clear settings page where anyone can choose their preferred language right away. It was a simple change, but it immediately opened the app up to a much more diverse group of people.
People were missing content because they didn’t scroll
Four out of five participants completely overlooked important information that was further down the page — they just didn’t scroll naturally. My solution was to add persistent sidebars on the pages that needed them. Now key sections are easier to spot, navigation feels more obvious, and users are guided better through the content without having to guess.
The “+” button created a lot of confusion
Every single one of the five users got confused when trying to add funds or create new goals — they weren’t sure whether the “+” meant adding money or starting a new savings goal (this happened in both individual and group savings areas). I addressed this by adding a clear “Add Funds” label to the main action, and I also built a dedicated modal that appears when you tap the “+”. Inside, there’s a searchable goal selector with category suggestions, so adding money and creating goals are now two completely separate, crystal-clear actions.
Iterated Mockups
Added a dedicated "Add Funds" button
Added an "Account Settings" screen for the confusing three-dots button on homepage
Introduced a dedicated Savings screen with search bar
Added the much-needed slider bar
Alternated expense colors with darker green for spent and lighter for available
Added a dedicated "Add Funds" button
Lesson learned: New-to-investing onboarding flow Beginners felt overwhelmed jumping straight into investments. I added a short questionnaire section first—based on responses, it routes them to either guided learning or safe investing—ensuring education comes before risk, building trust from day one.
Key Accessibility Considerations
From the beginning, I wanted Stash to feel welcoming to everyone, so I made accessibility a real priority and followed WCAG guidelines closely.
Multilingual support I included full language selection in the settings so users who prefer a language other than English can use the app comfortably — it removes a major barrier right from the start.
1
Strong color contrast I made sure every piece of text, icon, and interactive element meets (and in many cases exceeds) WebAIM’s contrast ratio standards (at least 4.5:1 for normal text). This helps users with low vision or color perception differences navigate the app without strain.
2
Keyboard navigation and focus management All interactive elements follow a logical tab order, with clear visible focus indicators and proper ARIA labels. This makes the app smooth and reliable for anyone using a keyboard or screen reader.
3
These changes came directly from watching real people use Stash, and I’m really proud of how much more inclusive and approachable the app feels now.
Key Takeaways
This personal project reinforced the transformative power of user-centered iteration and taught valuable lessons that will shape my future work as a UX designer.
Empathy through testing drives true inclusivity — Direct observation revealed assumptions about user knowledge (especially around investments) that I hadn't anticipated, highlighting how usability testing uncovers hidden exclusion points and allows designs to become genuinely welcoming to diverse audiences.
Iteration is essential for aligning vision with reality — As a solo designer, testing exposed gaps between my intent (gamified, collaborative saving) and user experience, reinforcing that real-world feedback is critical to evolving a product from good to exceptional.
Small changes yield significant impact — Simple interventions like clearer labels, onboarding segmentation, and visible navigation dramatically improved confidence and task success rates, demonstrating that thoughtful micro-interactions can make complex financial tools feel approachable and fun.
Accessibility and usability are intertwined — Prioritizing features like language options and contrast from the start not only meets ethical standards but also enhances the overall experience for every user, proving inclusive design creates broader value.
Next Steps
This personal project reinforced the transformative power of user-centered iteration and taught valuable lessons that will shape my future work as a UX designer.
Conduct a second round of usability testing with a more diverse participant group (including non-native English speakers and varying financial literacy levels) through platforms like Maze or UserTesting to validate recent changes and uncover any remaining edge cases.
Expand the case study with quantitative metrics (e.g., task success rates before/after iterations) and prepare a pitch deck for potential collaboration with fintech communities or accelerators, aiming to transform Stash into a minimum viable product.
* This is a self-initiated concept project designed to explore why most people fail to reach their savings goals. All research was conducted with real users.