UX & Product Design
Mobile App
/Roots
A financial simulator.
Most people are making real financial decisions with almost no preparation, and the apps that exist largely assume you already understand the basics. My task was to create a financial solution that would make financial education and planning easier and less intimidating for everyone.
/Role: Lead Product Designer · Certificate Capstone (University of Washington)
/Timeline: 6 months · 2025
/Scope: UX Research · Information Architecture · Visual Design · Design Systems · Gamification · Motion
The Problem
Financial apps exist.
Financial confidence doesn't.
Most people in their teens, twenties, and early thirties are making real financial decisions - first paychecks, student loans, rent, credit cards; with almost no preparation. Schools don't teach it. Parents don't always know how either.
When I looked at what existed - YNAB, SoFi, Greenlight, Zogo; I found tools that either tracked money, or taught concepts in a generic way that had nothing to do with actual situation.
Existing apps feel complex and intimidating
Most financial tools weren't designed for beginners. The language, the interface, the assumptions, all of it signals that you need to already know what you're doing before you start.
The content is abstract, not practical
Learning about a random topic doesn't help you if you are looking for something specific in your current situation. People need guidance connected to real decisions, not definitions.
Apps assume confidence instead of building it
Every app on the market treats financial literacy as a prerequisite. None of them are designed to take someone from zero to build the confidence to even open an account or make a first investment.
Nothing fits your specific situation
A student, a freelancer, and a new parent have entirely different financial realities. Generic tools speak to a generic person and most users don't see themselves in any of it.
90%
of Gen Z already use digital finance apps for budgeting or investing
35%
financial literacy rate among adults 18 to 24 is the lowest of any age group
/Personas
Benny Beginner
First job, recent grad
Needs financial literacy
Intimidated by investing
Stressed, overwhelmed
DIY Denise
Mid-career investor
Wants portfolio diversity
Confused by options
Time + info overload
/Research Methods
Most apps feel like they're for people who already know all about money.”
- Research participant, age 34
The concept
A financial simulator
The research pointed to one core insight: people don't build financial confidence by being taught, they build it by experiencing consequences. So the question became: what if you could simulate decades of financial decisions, make every mistake, go back, try differently, and walk away knowing what you'd actually do when it counts?
That became the core concept of Roots. A financial simulator.
/How the tree emerged
The form wasn't planned, it came through the concept. Early ideas centered on a timeline: a linear progression of challenges based on your age. But as the decision-making mechanic developed, paths started branching. Different choices led to different futures. The structure was no longer a line, it was a tree.
And because the branching happened downward, the metaphor clicked: roots. The deeper and healthier your financial roots, the stronger your tree grows. The nature system didn't get imposed on the product, it emerged from the design logic.
The process
Seven stages, two rounds of user feedback.
visual language
Reflective. Grounded. Motivating. Safe.
The visual system was built around four emotional qualities. Drawing on organic textures, seasonal forest photography, and Robert Frost - "Oh I marked the first for another day", the moodboard established a relationship with time and growth that felt personal rather than transactional.
Key feATURES
Every feature solves a specific fear.
Prototype
This is the real thing. Click around.
The full high-fidelity prototype, tap through it the way a real user would.
