This project was completed as part of my UX Design Certificate (CareerFoundry, 2022) — training The Conservation Fund invested in to build my research and usability testing skills as Creative Director. Running real usability tests here, and acting on specific user feedback rather than assumptions, became the same instinct I carried into The Conservation Fund's 2024 website redesign — starting from a donor study rather than aesthetic preference.

 
 

Overview

Objective:
Help people save money quickly in preparation for a big purchase or expenditure.

Problem Statement:
This tool is for people who want to save money, quickly, for a particular reason. A responsive website, web app, and/or mobile app allowing all data on income and expenses to be recorded easily, on the go, and from a variety of devices. The tool displays data on the user’s finances (how much money they spend and on what), and tells them what they can do to cut costs and save money in a certain amount of time.

 

TYPE

Money Saving App (iOS)

SKILLS APPLIED

UX, UI, Branding

SOFTWARE

Adobe XD, Illustrator, Photoshop

ROLE

UX/UI Designer

 
View Prototype
 

reflection

What I've Learned

  • Usability testing surfaced things I never would have caught alone — the "Planning" label confusion is the clearest example. Real user feedback beats internal assumptions every time.

  • Color psychology (blue for trust and wealth) mattered as much as layout for a finance product — users need to feel safe before they'll input real financial data.

What Would I Do Differently

  • Act on all three participants' feedback before finalizing screens — I addressed some critique points but left the "Planning" naming issue unresolved in the final version.

The usability testing on this project taught me something that stuck: even a label as small as "Planning" can confuse a user in ways a designer would never predict on their own — one participant suggested "Wallet" or "Goals" instead, and that kind of specific, concrete feedback is only possible when you actually test with real people. That same commitment to testing over assuming shaped how I approached The Conservation Fund's website redesign, starting from what the donor study actually told us rather than what looked good on a mood board.