Case
Aprendin

Initially, a survey was conducted focused on university students, to understand how was their relationship with money and how they manage their finances. Young people who are entering the labor market and starting their financial lives showed in my research as a group especially sensitive to the problem of lack of financial education. From this point on, many students start to acquire financial products, interact with banks, and manage their expenses. There was a design project opportunity there.

 Analyzing the existing solutions in the market, I could conclude that many tools helped in financial management, but that they would only be useful for people who already had the education and habit of managing their expenses. It was clear that a gap to be explored was precisely the lack of financial education. After surveying the pros and cons of some proposed paths, I chose the concept of an application aimed at teaching financial education as the best option.

The challenge of this project was to teach young adults the basics of financial management in a fun and engaging way. Needs pointed out by the future user as important facilitators of learning, as many consider the topic boring and loaded with negative stigmas. To reach a better acceptance, game techniques (gamification) combined with technical knowledge of basic finance were inserted in its mechanics and at the center of the experience. The objective was to educate and create the habit of financial management through continuous practice, stimulated by the progression of levels, challenges, and rewards. To help understand the mechanics to be adopted and the content, information architecture diagrams, and wireframes were used. Lastly, the interface design, where usability issues and visual balance were adjusted for a better user experience.

 The challenge of researching a problem in-depth, generating empathy with the user, and designing a proposal for a digital solution to the problem, was very gratifying and opened my mind to a path of professional performance that I have been focusing on since then. I know the project still needs to be tested, to have its proposals validated and tweaked in a continuous development cycle, but the time was short and the work quite challenging for a single developer. Just as the challenge was great, the learning was equally rewarding.