Credit Management App
Project Type: Exploration UX Design Project
Timeline: 7 months
Role: UX Researcher & Designer
Overview
The Credit Management App is an exploration project aimed at demonstrating my skills in user research, UX design, and the end-to-end design process. This concept was inspired by conversations with friends, family, and survey participants who revealed that many people avoid checking their credit scores due to feelings of overwhelm, uncertainty, and frustration over seemingly insignificant score fluctuations. This project seeks to bridge that gap by creating a credit management tool that is approachable, simple, and actionable.​
Problem Statement
People want to improve their credit, but most existing apps fail to provide clear, actionable guidance. As a result, users feel overwhelmed, disengaged, and frustrated with non-specific, vague information that doesn’t help them take meaningful action.
The Goal: To create a personalized, user-friendly credit management tool that empowers users to actively engage with their credit health.
By prioritizing simplicity and inclusivity, this app seeks to reduce feelings of overwhelm and provide users with the clarity and guidance they need to make tangible progress toward their financial goals.
Target Audience: Originally targeting young millennials, the audience was later expanded to a broader range of users aged 18-65, including students, new grads, and those looking to make financial moves like purchasing a home or car. This expanded focus ensures the app is accessible and useful to a diverse range of users with varying financial goals and needs.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
Personas
Goal-Oriented Striver
Erica Johnson
Status: Young professional, newly engaged, preparing for a major financial goal.
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Life Stage: Actively Managing Finances to achieve specific milestones
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Emotional State: Motivated and goal-driven, but frustrated by lack of personalization
The Strategic Minimalist
James Robinson
Status: Experienced professional
Life Stage: Stable financially, occasionally checks for major financial decisions (e.g., mortgages, investments)
Emotional State: Pragmatic and detached
The Overwhelmed Learner
Sarah Doe
Status: New Professional, recently single/divorced
Life Stage: Navigating financial independence, managing debt, and understanding credit for the first time.
Emotional State: Overwhelmed and uncertain.
Key Pain Points
Actionable Guidance
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Users want to understand why their score changes and how to improve it, not just be told it change.
Proactive Alerts
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Alerts should offer helpful next steps, not just highlight fluctuations in credit scores.
Bank-Linked Credibility
Apps connected to banks are seen as more secure, credible, and trustworthy than third-party apps.
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Clarity & Simplicity
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Credit-related terms and recommendations should be clear, free of industry jargon, and easy to find.
Design Approach​
My design approach follows a human-centered process, starting with user research, moving to ideation, and progressing through low-fidelity wireframing and prototyping. This iterative process ensures that user insights directly inform each design decision, creating an experience that aligns with user needs and expectations. ​
Development
User Research
Design
Ideation
Continuous iterations throughout the entire process.
Erica Johnson, 27
I really did have to turn off notifications at one point… getting notifications for when it drops a point, like does a point truly matter for me to be getting a notification like, essentially feeling bad about it.
Sarah Doe, 31
“An app that emphasizes more on like, tools that help you learn more about your credit… how to build the credit and offering more resources.”
James Robinson, 43
It took me longer than I would have liked to see that maybe there’s like a pull-through story of what to do next.
Research Approach
To better understand the motivations and pain points of credit management app users,
I conducted 50 survey responses to identify trends in how users engage with their credit.
Competitor Analysis
Ideation & Design:
After synthesizing user insights, I identified 3 core user needs:
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Users want a simple way to understand what’s impacting their credit score.
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Users want a way to visualize how small actions can lead to big changes.
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​Users want a trusted, bank-level experience.​
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Next
Steps
Case Study Status:
User Research: Reconnect with participants to gather deeper insights and validate design assumptions.
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Design Iterations: Move from low-fidelity wireframes to high-fidelity prototypes, iterating with each round of user feedback.
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User Testing: Conduct usability testing to evaluate the app’s simplicity, navigation, and effectiveness of guidance.