Rethinking personal finance for the
quietly anxious generation.
Lumen is a calm, clarity-first money app designed to help first-time earners move from financial avoidance to confident, daily decisions.
ROLE
Lead Product Designer
INDUSTRY
Consumer Fintech
TIMELINE
14 weeks · 2025
PLATFORM
iOS · Responsive Web
Project Snapshot
The Problem
Young investors feel overwhelmed by complex jargon and disconnected from traditional banking experiences, leading to decision paralysis.
The Goal
Design a humane, highly transparent investing experience that educates passively and builds long-term habits without pressure.
The Outcome
A 42% increase in weekly active users and a 3x higher adoption rate of automated investment portfolios within the first 3 months.
My Role
Lead Product Designer. Responsible for end-to-end UX, visual design, prototyping, and collaborating with engineering for handoff.
Business Context
THE MARKET GAP
Traditional brokerage apps are built for active traders. They prioritize dense data, flashing charts, and high-frequency actions. However, 85% of our target demographic (ages 22-35) identify as "anxious avoiders" when it comes to their finances. They don't want a trading terminal; they want an autopilot.
STRATEGIC GOALS
The primary business objective was to shift users from one-off stock purchases to recurring automated investments (AUM growth). To achieve this, we needed to redesign the core experience to reward patience and consistency over active trading.
"WE NEEDED TO BUILD A PRODUCT THAT MAKES DOING NOTHING FEEL LIKE AN ACCOMPLISHMENT."
Founder, OJI App
User & Insights
Cognitive Overload
Users reported feeling paralyzed by the sheer volume of choices and metrics presented during onboarding. 68% abandoned the process when asked to select a specific portfolio mix without contextual guidance.
The Trust Deficit
In qualitative interviews, users expressed skepticism of "gamified" financial apps. They equated playful micro-interactions with a lack of security, demanding a more serious, transparent visual language for their money.
Information Architecture
We drastically flattened the app structure. We moved from a generic bottom-tab layout to a persistent "Action Drawer" that contextually surfaces the most relevant next step based on the user's portfolio maturity.
Contextual primary navigation
Progressive disclosure of metrics
Frictionless fund injection
Design Decisions
Frictionless Onboarding
Delaying the "Hard Math"
We drastically flattened the app structure. We moved from a generic bottom-tab layout to a persistent "Action Drawer" that contextually surfaces the most relevant next step based on the user's portfolio maturity.
Frictionless Onboarding
Delaying the "Hard Math"
We drastically flattened the app structure. We moved from a generic bottom-tab layout to a persistent "Action Drawer" that contextually surfaces the most relevant next step based on the user's portfolio maturity.
Frictionless Onboarding
Delaying the "Hard Math"
We drastically flattened the app structure. We moved from a generic bottom-tab layout to a persistent "Action Drawer" that contextually surfaces the most relevant next step based on the user's portfolio maturity.
Visual System
Low-fidelity Wireframes
Final UI Showcase
