Context
Academic Project from 2023.10 to 2023.12
Role: Researcher, Prototype Maker
Tools: Figma, AE
Team Members: Muhan Huang, Chris, Kirsten, Reina, Vito, Andy
SimPlii Learn
UX design for Simplii Financial
Overview
This project requires the group to focus on a real-life problem and apply UX design thinking to provide a solution to that problem. Finding the right client for whom to design a solution to this problem.
The client chosen by our team was Simplii Financial, for which we designed functionality to reduce the learning curve for working-age immigrants to establish credit in Canada, thereby enabling them to build financial confidence and security, while attracting more potential new immigrant customers to Simplii Financial.
Research
Problem Space
During our research, we discovered that annually, Canada accepts about 500,000 newcomers. Navigating through the financial landscape for newcomers is especially hard as there are different services back home. This is especially true with credit cards, taxes, mortgages and student loans.
After identifying the problem space and target audience, we started looking for the appropriate clients and focused on Simplii Finance.
Simplii Financial, a Canadian online banking service under the ownership of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC).
Why Simplii Financial?
Simplii Financial already allows newcomers to register for a banking account before they arrive in Canada. We want our intervention to provide accessible information for newcomers before they come to Canada, thus newcomers are able to fully prepare for the new financial landscape before they arrive.
Brand Concept
Simplii Financial's brand concept is simplifying financial management for their customers. They use digital platforms to create an easy and accessible banking experience that allows their customers to bank stress free.
#1 Creating Simple and Stress-Free Experiences
Simplii financial aims to create simple financial journeys for their customers, from applying for mortgages, investing and sending cash internationally.
Client Research
Introduction Video
Brand Pillar
As newcomers to Canada, many of the financial services provided are different from what they are used to back home. Things such as taxes, credit cards, mortgages and student loans may be completely different or new concepts to them.
——CBC (2023)
According to Statista's 2023 research, Canada welcomes approximately 500,000 new immigrants annually. A prominent concern for immigrants revolves around navigating Canada's financial landscape.
——Statista (2023), Scotiabank (2022)
#2 Digital Innovation For Customer Needs
Simplii Financial understands the current shift towards digital platforms. They commit to consistently creating digital solutions to match the needs of their customers.
#3 Creating a Transparent Banking Experience
Products are transparently listed, showing all fees and benefits at a glance. This transparency helps build trust with their customers as they will not be surprised by hidden fees.
Framing
How might Simplii Financial create a compelling experience for the working group of immigrants to reduce the learning curve of credit building in Canada, in order for them to build financial confidence and security?
Process
Once we narrowed down our problem space and target audience, we applied the sprint method to help us move forward.
Sprint
Day 1: Refinement
Long-Term Goals & Sprint Questions
We established the long-term goal of this project to be getting newly setup immigrants in their working age group to use Simplii Financial’s financial services more.
In order to do this, we wanted to understand the goals and needs of the target audience and get a better understanding of our problem space through sprint.
Mapping
Insights
We found that there were something missing between making the account with Simplii Financial and getting customer learning about the credit system. To fill this gap, we want to use customer goals to help them make better financial decisions.
How could we better connect newcomer’s personal goals in relation to the credit system, showcasing the importance of financial literacy?
Solution Ideation
After searching for precedents, we sketched out our ideas. From there, we went into the decision-making process to find which idea or parts of ideas would work best for out intervention.
Insights
A major area we wanted to focus on is to enable customers to see the bigger picture of the credit system, leading them to making good financial decisions that align with their goals.
We also want to find a way to allow customers to easily look back at the information they have learned for ongoing engagement in this service.
Lastly, we want to help customers easily understand the difference between concepts like, good credit and bad credit by showing real examples.
Precedents
When looking for precedents, I try to choose pages with less text, and pages that present information in various ways. I want to convey the most comprehensive information in the simplest way with the least amount of text. Therefore my researches are mainly focused on the following areas.
Accordin Menu
Useful for text-heavy content
Giving users the freedom to selectively read
Commonly used in single-page websites
Navigation
Bento UI organizes content effectively, but for our design, new comers might need more guidance
Nav bar always visible and accessible
Scrolling
Inner scrolling is useful for text-heavy content
Seperate scrolling can make sure important info is always present
Flipcard
Useful for content such as definition and Q&A
First Version
Content Strategy
After reflecting on the mistakes we made, we unanimously agreed that content is the top priority because it is the key to our entire design. After thoroughly researching a large amount of information, we finalized four main sections: credit score, credit report, tips and advice, and Simplii stories.
The credit system is very important in Canada, but it may be an unfamiliar term for some immigrants, so we decided to start with the basics of the credit score. This module includes the definition of a credit score, the five components that make up a credit score, and the different credit score ranges and their meanings.
Another important topic is the credit report. Our research found that some Canadians do not even know that there are two types of credit checks and their respective purposes. Therefore, this section includes the definition of a credit report, the two types of credit checks and their differences, how to conduct a credit check, and the contents of a credit report.
In the third section, we provide some simple tips to help users quickly learn how to build good credit and clarify the five major misconceptions using flip cards.
Finally, in the last section, we offer real stories about immigrants building credit to help new immigrants understand the importance of the credit system and to give them confidence in it.
This is the first version of our design. We applied horizontal scrolling, divided sections, and created high contrast to minimize the amount of text content.
Although it reduced the cognitive load on users, the drawbacks of this design are quite obvious. Firstly, its overall design style does not match the original website. Even though the original color palette and fonts are from Simplii Financial's website, there was no horizontal scrolling or high contrast used. Secondly, and most critically, because the content is overly compressed, many important pieces of information are not fully explained. This can confuse users to some extent, which goes against our intention of providing them with help.
After modifying the design based on the new content strategy, we conducted user interviews with seven volunteers, focusing mainly on the content. The feedback we summarized highlighted issues primarily related to the need for further explanation of certain technical terms and inconsistencies in terminology for the same concepts.
Showing the Big Picture
Ongoing Engagement
Real Life Examples
“The purpose of a single-page website is to offer the exact amount of information for an online user to make a decision and act on it. Because of this, usually, the one-page website’s design is used for landing pages, product presentations, portfolios, and events. This is a content-oriented site that removes all the unnecessary website interface noise and focuses on catching the user’s attention.“
Day 2: Ideation
+
Day 3:
Solutionizing
Day 4:
Prototyping
Day 5:
User Interviews
Final Outcome
This is our final result. To maintain the consistency of the website's style, we strictly adhered to the original website's design and adopted several strategies, such as tab interface, slide bar, flipcards and accordion menu to ensure that the information is both comprehensive and presented concisely, so that users do not feel overwhelmed while reading. They can also choose whether they want to view more detailed information.