ripple

Role

Role

Role

Product Designer

Platform

Platform

Platform

Responsive Web Design

Duration

Duration

Duration

5 weeks

Year

Year

Year

2026

Microsavings Responsive Web Design

Nearly every participant wanted to save money, but fluctuating income made traditional savings tools feel rigid, overwhelming, and discouraging. Ripple is a responsive savings platform designed to make saving feel flexible, approachable, and achievable through micro-savings, personalized goals, and financial education.

Over five weeks, I led the end-to-end design process from research through usability testing. Research revealed that the real barrier wasn't motivation; it was financial confidence, which became the guiding principle for the product strategy.

Outcome

  • Reduced time on task by 45% after usability testing

  • Increased user confidence by 70% through iterative improvements

  • Validated a responsive MVP focused on flexible savings, goal tracking, and financial education

  • Reduced time on task by 45% after usability testing

  • Increased user confidence by 70% through iterative improvements

  • Validated a responsive MVP focused on flexible savings, goal tracking, and financial education

Problem

Challenge

How might we help young adults build savings in a way that adapts to their financial limitations while increasing confidence and consistency over time?

User Research

To gain a deep understanding of users’ saving behaviors, motivations, and pain points, I conducted 5 user interviews, 13 user surveys, and analyzed comparable micro-savings and investment products.

AI-assisted transcription and synthesis tools were utilized to efficiently extract key insights and create an initial affinity map, which I then refined manually to identify patterns, tensions, and areas of opportunity. These insights informed the creation of two personas that grounded design decisions throughout the project.

Key Findings

  • 80% of participants described saving using negative emotions, including stress, fear, guilt, or frustration

  • 80% of participants stated that seeing numbers grow was their strongest motivation to continue saving

  • 100% emphasized the need for:

    • Adjustable savings amounts

    • The ability to pause or withdraw at any time

    • Transparency in where money goes

  • 60% rated their financial confidence at 6 or lower out of 10, even among users actively saving or investing

  • Participants struggle to save consistently due to income variability, high cost of living, and unexpected expenses

Together, these findings revealed that the challenge wasn't motivating people to save—it was designing a system that felt flexible enough to fit unpredictable financial lives.

Defining the MVP

My initial concept was a comprehensive personal finance platform combining budgeting, investing, debt management, and savings. I believed consolidating financial tools into one place would reduce overwhelm and help users feel more confident. However, research challenged that assumption. I realized I had been designing for comprehensive financial management when what users actually needed was the confidence to take one small step. That insight fundamentally changed the product strategy. Instead of expanding the feature set, I narrowed the MVP around four core experiences: flexible saving, visible progress, transparency, and financial education.

User Journey

Wireframes

I explored several navigation patterns before settling on a mobile-first dashboard centered around savings progress. Because participants primarily managed finances on their phones, I prioritized quick access to balances, goals, and activity with minimal navigation.

Design System

To create a consistent experience across mobile, tablet, and desktop, I built a responsive design system using reusable components, accessible color contrast, and a scalable typography hierarchy. Designing these foundations early allowed me to iterate quickly during testing while maintaining consistency across breakpoints.

Feature #1: Onboarding

Problem: Users were hesitant to connect their bank accounts because they lacked confidence in how their money would be managed and wanted reassurance that they retained full control.


Design: Guided onboarding flow that explains how Ripple works, introduces affiliated banking partners, highlights security measures, and clearly communicates how users can customize or pause savings at any time.


Why: Establishes trust before asking users to connect financial accounts, reducing uncertainty and increasing confidence from the first interaction.

Problem: Users were hesitant to connect their bank accounts because they lacked confidence in how their money would be managed and wanted reassurance that they retained full control.


Design: Guided onboarding flow that explains how Ripple works, introduces affiliated banking partners, highlights security measures, and clearly communicates how users can customize or pause savings at any time.


Why: Establishes trust before asking users to connect financial accounts, reducing uncertainty and increasing confidence from the first interaction.

Problem: Users were hesitant to connect their bank accounts because they lacked confidence in how their money would be managed and wanted reassurance that they retained full control.


Design: Guided onboarding flow that explains how Ripple works, introduces affiliated banking partners, highlights security measures, and clearly communicates how users can customize or pause savings at any time.


Why: Establishes trust before asking users to connect financial accounts, reducing uncertainty and increasing confidence from the first interaction.

Feature #2: Goals

Problem: Participants struggled to stay motivated because traditional savings accounts made progress feel slow and intangible. 80% of users said seeing numbers grow was their strongest motivation to continue saving.


Design: Goal tracking with real-time progress visualization, milestone badges, and personalized savings goals.


Why: Transforms saving from an abstract financial task into visible progress that reinforces positive habits and encourages long-term consistency.

Problem: Participants struggled to stay motivated because traditional savings accounts made progress feel slow and intangible. 80% of users said seeing numbers grow was their strongest motivation to continue saving.


Design: Goal tracking with real-time progress visualization, milestone badges, and personalized savings goals.


Why: Transforms saving from an abstract financial task into visible progress that reinforces positive habits and encourages long-term consistency.

Problem: Participants struggled to stay motivated because traditional savings accounts made progress feel slow and intangible. 80% of users said seeing numbers grow was their strongest motivation to continue saving.


Design: Goal tracking with real-time progress visualization, milestone badges, and personalized savings goals.


Why: Transforms saving from an abstract financial task into visible progress that reinforces positive habits and encourages long-term consistency.

Feature #3: Activity

Problem: Participants wanted greater transparency into where their money was going and how everyday spending contributed to their savings.


Design: An Activity dashboard with transaction history, real-time savings metrics, and a categorized spending breakdown that categorizes spending.


Why: Provides visibility into saving habits, helping users better understand their finances while reinforcing trust in the platform.

Problem: Participants wanted greater transparency into where their money was going and how everyday spending contributed to their savings.


Design: An Activity dashboard with transaction history, real-time savings metrics, and an interactive expense breakdown that categorizes spending.


Why: Provides visibility into saving habits, helping users better understand their finances while reinforcing trust in the platform.

Problem: Participants wanted greater transparency into where their money was going and how everyday spending contributed to their savings.


Design: An Activity dashboard with transaction history, real-time savings metrics, and an interactive expense breakdown that categorizes spending.


Why: Provides visibility into saving habits, helping users better understand their finances while reinforcing trust in the platform.

Feature #4: Learning

Problem: Many participants lacked confidence in their financial knowledge, with 60% rating their financial confidence 6/10 or lower, making saving feel intimidating.


Design: A Learning hub featuring short, approachable lessons that explain financial concepts through practical, bite-sized content.


Why: Builds financial confidence without overwhelming users, making it easier to develop healthy saving habits over time.

Problem: Many participants lacked confidence in their financial knowledge, with 60% rating their financial confidence 6/10 or lower, making saving feel intimidating.


Design: A Learning hub featuring short, approachable lessons that explain financial concepts through practical, bite-sized content.


Why: Builds financial confidence without overwhelming users, making it easier to develop healthy saving habits over time.

Problem: Many participants lacked confidence in their financial knowledge, with 60% rating their financial confidence 6/10 or lower, making saving feel intimidating.


Design: A Learning hub featuring short, approachable lessons that explain financial concepts through practical, bite-sized content.


Why: Builds financial confidence without overwhelming users, making it easier to develop healthy saving habits over time.

Usability Testing

I conducted 5 remote and in-person usability tests to evaluate task clarity, completion rates, and feature comprehension. Key iterations included:

Before

Testers expected goal cards to be expandable, allowing them to view details and make adjustments without relying on the ellipsis menu.

After

To align with user expectations, I redesigned the goals experience to include an expandable goal view where users can edit goals and track in-depth progress and milestones.

Before

Users expected goal cards to expand, so they could view details and make adjustments without relying on the overflow menu.

After

I redesigned the goals experience to expand so users could view and edit goals and track progress and milestones in-depth.

Before

4 out of 5 users missed the expense breakdown feature, positioned below the fold under the savings growth chart.

After

I repositioned the expense breakdown higher on the page with stronger visual hierarchy, reducing time on task by 45%.

Before

3 out of 5 users missed the expense breakdown feature, positioned below the fold under the savings growth chart.

After

I repositioned the breakdown higher on the page and strengthened its visual hierarchy, reducing time on task by 45%.

Interactive Prototype

I built a functional prototype to validate core features and responsive design across devices.

Click to interact

Click to interact

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Impact

After implementing these changes, I conducted another round of usability testing to evaluate whether the revised experience better aligned with users' mental models. Iterative refinements led to measurable improvements:


  • 45% decrease in time on task by redesigning the information architecture. Users could now easily locate key features, such as the expense breakdown, that had previously been buried.


  • Participants' average self-reported confidence increased by 70%, as measured through post-test surveys using a 1–10 confidence scale.

Ripple taught me that narrowing scope can create more value than adding features. By focusing on one emotional barrier, financial confidence, I was able to design a product that felt approachable rather than overwhelming.

Through 5 rounds of usability testing with post-test surveys, I identified critical opportunities to improve clarity, navigation, and user confidence. Iterative refinements led to measurable improvements:


  • 45% decrease in time on task by redesigning the information architecture. Users could now easily locate key features, such as the expense breakdown, that had previously been buried.


  • Participants' average self-reported confidence increased by 70%, measured through post-test surveys using a 1–10 confidence scale.


Designing Ripple challenged me to think beyond traditional budgeting tools. I learned that building better financial products isn't just about helping users save more—it's about designing experiences that reduce anxiety, build trust, and adapt to the realities of inconsistent income.

Through 5 rounds of usability testing with post-test surveys, I identified critical opportunities to improve clarity, navigation, and user confidence. Iterative refinements led to measurable improvements:


  • 45% decrease in time on task by redesigning the information architecture. Users could now easily locate key features, such as the expense breakdown, that had previously been buried.


  • Participants' average self-reported confidence increased by 70%, as measured through post-test surveys using a 1–10 confidence scale.

Designing Ripple challenged me to think beyond traditional budgeting tools. I learned that building better financial products isn't just about helping users save more—it's about designing experiences that reduce anxiety, build trust, and adapt to the realities of inconsistent income.

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