¢ents

Project Overview

Helping Students Succeed Financially.

Navigating personal finances for the first time can be a big challenge for students balancing tuition, living expenses, and often, limited funds. Cents is a mobile student finance app designed to provide an easy-to-use solution for tracking expenses, setting budgets, and helping to achieve financial goals, coupled with a brand identity that seeks to connect with the student demographic.

Research and Discovery

In order to establish a baseline foundation for Cents, research was undertaken to understand the financial habits and needs of university students:

• User Interviews: In-depth conversations with a diverse group of students revealed key pain points, including the difficulty of tracking small, frequent expenses, a lack of clear visibility into where their money was going, and a desire for more personalized guidance on budgeting. Students expressed a need for tools that were simple to use and visually appealing.
• Usability Surveys: Web-based surveys provided statistical validation of the interview findings. The data highlighted common budgeting challenges, preferred features in finance apps (simplicity, visual summaries), and the prevalence of financial stress among students.
• Competitive Analysis: An examination of popular finance appls indicated both strengths and opportunities in the market. This analysis revealed a noticeable gap in apps specifically tailored to the student demographic.

Strategy & Concept

The insights provided from the research phase helped to inform my strategy for "Cents," which centers on creating an intuitive, visual user experience designed specifically for students. The guiding concepts were:

• Easy Tracking: Reducing the level of effort involved in recording financial transactions, through features like quick-add options and intelligent categorization suggestions.
• Visual Clarity: Translating complex financial information into an data visualizations, such as charts and graphs.
• Goal-Oriented Motivation: Helping students to better define their financial goals, providing reachable targets to work towards.
• Financial Education: Personalized literacy content within the app, delivered in a meaningful way, to enhance students' understanding of financial topics.

Design Process

The design of the Cents App followed a user-centered design process, emphasizing iteration and user feedback:

• Wireframing: Initial designs focused on the flow of key screens. These basic wireframes were used for early-stage feedback sessions to validate the information architecture and persistent navigation.
• Prototyping: High-fidelity prototypes were created using Figma to test key user actions, such as viewing recent transactions, creating budgets, and viewing progress towards goals. These prototypes underwent multiple rounds of usability testing with student participants.
• Visual Design: A clean and modern aesthetic was developed for "Cents," utilizing a bright color palette and clear typography standing apart from traditional banking apps.
• Usability:Throughout the design process, iterative usability testing was conducted to identify and address any usability issues. Feedback from these sessions helped to inform design revisions, ensuring a user-friendly and effective final product.

Final Outcome

"Cents" culminates in a mobile application designed to empower students to confidently manage their finances. Key features of the final design include:

• Intuitive Dashboard:A personalized overview displaying account balances, recent transactions, spending summaries, and progress towards financial goals.
• Seamless Transaction Management: An easy-to-use interface for logging income and expenses, with intelligent categorization and the option to set up recurring transactions.
• Customizable Budgeting: Tools for creating and managing budgets across different spending categories, with visual indicators to track progress and identify potential overspending.
• Goal Setting & Tracking: A dedicated section for defining financial goals, visualizing progress, and setting reminders to stay on track.
• Insightful Reporting: Clear and concise charts and graphs that provide valuable insights into spending patterns and overall financial health.
• Integrated Learning Resources: Easily accessible tips and educational content on topics relevant to student finances, such as understanding credit scores and managing student loans.

Reflection

Navigating personal finances for the first time can be a big challenge for students balancing tuition, living expenses, and often, limited funds. "Cents" is a mobile-first student finance application designed to provide an easy-to-use solution for tracking expenses, setting budgets, and achieving financial goals, coupled with a brand identity that resonates with the student demographic and fosters trust in managing their finances.