The content of this document is a record of all the ideas and processes that went into the creation and aims to guide you along my thinking in the development of this product.

As a digital designer, I know my goal is to develop a digital interface that will help people and make their lives easier but a problem that’s been plaguing my mind is, “Where can I provide the most value, where am I most needed?”. I am always hoping to blend my passions and abilities into projects that represent me creatively and practically while solving fundamental issues. While watching YouTube I came across a YouTuber by the name of Caleb Hammer, and his series Financial Audit. At first, I was simply entertained by witnessing the horrors of people’s spending habits and seeing how people could fall into a life of bad debts, irresponsibility and poor financial management. After binging his content I got a sinking feeling and a realization that these people aren’t to blame for their financial illiteracy. Sometimes people are just too anxious to tackle their problems and too unorganized to manage their personal finances. In a world of digital currencies, rampant inflation, and financial jargon only the financially literate can properly comprehend what can be done to help people stay in control. From the liberal arts major to the Astrophysicist and not to be forgotten the high school dropout how can I create something that can provide insight into their finances without providing an extensive financial education?

For starters, I can give them a visualizer, a means to see their cash flow, like a human body breathing air and providing oxygen to muscles. I want to create an interface which demonstrates individuals’ cash flow usage, from groceries, rent/mortgage, insurance, investments, emergency funds, personal savings, stocks and categories unique to each individual. Something designed for the salaried worker, or anyone who has some consistency in their income which can be inputting biweekly, monthly or quarterly. I want to develop this so people can have the means from moving away from a “paycheque to paycheque” lifestyle and feel empowered by fiscal responsibility.

From my research, the problem that I am solving is, only 15% of Canadians consider themselves financially literate when it comes to life insurance, investments and stocks, a number that in my eyes is far too low (Bond, 2022). When quizzed on finances by Statistics Canada Canadians received a grade of 67% a B- by Canadian grading standards, but a D+ by American grading standards like at the University of Virginia, where I got my certification in digital project management. In other words and in summary, generally speaking, people are ignorant when it comes to financials and as a designer, it’s my duty and passion to simplify data and present complex problems in digestible and manageable forms. To answer the question “Where am I most needed?” I believe it’s here, I believe that this problem is one that can seriously impact people's lives by educating them and preparing them for a life of responsible decision-making. With this banking platform, I hope to empower people and encourage good financial habits.

I will have to do a competitor analysis into existing banking applications and discover where some pain points may exist and ideate on potential solutions for these platforms, I will observe this through reviews in the app store. I will also interview people around me to gain insights into some common user frustrations and understand what works well with the virtual banking product they do use. I will utilize a user interview platform voxpopme to speak with various age groups which I do not have access to, and gain a better understanding of the American audience.

In progress

In Progress

In Progre