Design by Ben Dedrick and Michael IseriJanuary 22, 2014

about the siteSaveUp is a website and mobile application for users who want a fun, easy, and rewarding way to meet their financial goals. It interfaces with nearly all banks, credit unions, retirement funds, and other financial services to monitor users’ spending and saving habits, and rewards them for making smart financial decisions. Unlike Mint or other finance tracking services, SaveUp encourages users to overcome their debt or save for the future by offering high-value prize drawings to users who make consistent steps toward their goals.

about the projectSaveUp is a startup based in San Francisco, CA. This project was assigned as part of General Assembly’s UX Design Immersive class; the assigned objective was to increase SaveUp’s user acquisition and retention by examining and redesigning the onboarding process.

This project focuses on the Web implementation of SaveUp.

design principlesChange company perceptionHelp users see SaveUp as caring, helpful, trustworthy, and fun.

Emphasize what’s differentMake sure users can immediately see why SaveUp is worth checking out.

Offer clear value propositionThis strategy for encouraging savings has been used before, and it worked. People really do win prizes from the site; ensure users know this.

Show how it worksUse clear visual language and simple copy text to help users understand the process.

Encourage trust from usersEndorsements from major publications, partnerships with banks and credit unions, believable testimonials from real users, and exciting visual design all give users a stronger sense that SaveUp is a site they can trust.

Prototype

original site flow

User arrives at front page

Explores to learn more

about SaveUpjoin

Tour Page

Other Tour Page

Browse prizes

Register Account Page

Browse, invite, or linkSubmit

Link

CompleteAccount link flow

invite

Browse

Link

Sign-up page Dashboard

Submit

Verify

User receives email

personasAlexa BortoncanPhotographer’s Assistant24 years – Santa Fe, New Mexico

Technical Comfort: Below Average for Gen-Y

Back Story• Lots of student loan debt; no savings; some credit card debt• Not much leftover from paycheck to put towards savings• No long-term or retirement savings

Motivations• Concerned about ending up broke, open to trying something new• Heard about SaveUp from a friend

Frustrations• Fears falling for scam. Getting suspicious since she hasn’t won anything• Not getting much advice that is relevant to her situation

Ideal Experience• Feels like she’s making progress towards paying off credit card debt• Opens a savings account with SaveUp’s help• Gets to play more often / earns more credits for her hard work

Julie Holt-RamirezSchool Nurse32 years – Texas

Technical Comfort: Average for Gen-X

Back Story• Got married after graduating from Texas A&M, has 2 kids• Loves her job and helping people• Worried about paying kids’ college tuition, and retirement• Loves couponing, shoe shopping, and “getting a deal!”

Motivations• Read about SaveUp in parents magazine• Wants to save and be more organized• Loves the prizes and chances to win on SaveUp

Frustrations• Has trouble connecting accounts (forgot passwords or husband has them)• Finds the games boring / repetitive• Wants to be more organized, but she can’t get her husband to look at SaveUp “because it’s a game”

Ideal Experience• More coupons and discounts• More games / less repetition• More financial visualizations that she can show her husband• Still really loves SaveUp

case study

We started by meeting with SaveUp to learn more about how they wanted the company to be perceived, and what they saw as their biggest challenges.

FindingsThe company should feel fun and friendly, but without sacrificing safety or security. SaveUp genuinely wants to help users feel empowered to conquer their finances.

OpportunitiesRedesigning the front page would help communicate branding and promote user trust from the first time they see the site. Rethinking the signup and account link flows will ensure that users don’t drop off once they’ve started to explore the site.

Method:

Make sure that a clear presentation of the site’s featuresgreets users as soon as they arrive.

Maintain a clear call to action on the main page.

Reinforce the features throughout the onboarding process.

increase visibility of value propositionproposed solution 1

Method:

Display more specific endorsements from trusted publicationsas they become available.

Mention partnerships with banks, credit unions, and otherinstitutions.

Explain SaveUp’s basis in PLS research to prove that theconcept works.

Example: Mint

proposed solution 2

refine language and content to improve user trust.

Method:

Add interactivity and more dynamic content panels to the front page.

Refine visual styling.

proposed solution 3

improve visual fidelity to catch new users quickly.

early concepts

Ben Dedrickbdedrick@gmail.com

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