Cashflo

Role Designer

Year 2021

Focus
UI/UX Design, Brand Design, Design Process

Team
Ethan Pidgeon, Shannon Haley, Ally McCabe, Julia Schaeffler, Vanessa Peng

Cashflo is a mobile fintech solution aimed for the unbanked and underbanked populations, with the purpose of making the digitization of money more accessible. The founders of the startup realized that there were individuals who lacked traditional bank accounts or essential banking resources, and set to find a method that would allow users to convert cash into digital money at any point-of-sales location.

I worked in a team of five designers, under the direction of our Project Lead, Ethan Pidgeon. After four months of weekly design sprints and an extensive research and discovery phase, we created a comprehensive visual identity as well as a high-fidelity prototype that will enable our client to take Cashflo to the next steps.

The first steps we took was understanding Cashflo as a brand and its mission. We researched the underlying issue to learn more about who and what we were designing for. Through our own market research, we were able to figure out the strengths and weaknesses of our competitors to close potential gaps in the market. Each member of the team also conducted user interviews with various people, from potential users to industry experts. The results of our findings lead to diverse user personas that enabled us find key components to prioirtize as well as a structured flow that determined which key screens to focus on.

The scope of the project included brand identity design as well. Through a series of workshops, including moodboarding, we were drawn towards visual identities that were approachable and trustworthy, yet veered away from a predictable banking look and feel. The final result took on a more modern look through high contrasts, simple UI and playful illustrations, all in which encompass Cashflo.

Cashflo’s logo and lockup features ligatures that represent the ideas of flowing and transfering. Customized uniquely on the typeface Nimbus Sans, the logo is able to stand on its own while potraying both a contemporary and playful feel.

As we continued to develop wireframes, we also had the chance to host a user testing workshop. We had users go through the prototype and pointed them to achieve certain tasks that were assigned to them. The results of the workshop were revealed to us critical information that would enable us to improve the conversion experience even more.

One of the major takeaways of user testing was that there was still a gap in Cashflo’s process and users’ understanding of where their money was. We decided to resolve this issue through more confirmation screens as users were going through each step of the money digitization process. We also introduced a flow that served as a tutorial to inform users on the app’s purpose. The combination of simple illustrations and straightforward copy helped to enhance user understanding even more.

After a semester together with Cashflo, we were able to handoff a comprensive brand book that would enable them to further develop the brand with a strong visual identity. In addition, we were also able to handoff a high fidelity prototype that would enable Cashflo to begin the development process and pitch to investors an idea that would help the underbanked and unbanked populations.

Cashflo’s case study is also featured on Scout, Northeastern’s student-led design studio.