toshi - Hadass Sternberg

toshi — 2022
Invest with every shopping

toshi is a German based startup that helps users invest money for their retirement. With toshi's automated app, for every cashless purchase the user makes, a certain precentage is invested in a long-term portfolio. 🏆 First place winner project in Ironhack Germany hackshow Dec 2022 (UX/UI category)

Our team helped toshi improve their current app by uncovering the users' financial-related pain points, and redesigning the traditional investment portfolio for users who did not invest before.

My responsibilities: UX Research, UX Design, Prototyping, Art Direction, UI Design
Duration: 2 weeks
Team: 2 product designers (Amanda Liedberg & Hadass Sternberg)
Credits: Ironhack Berlin, toshi

The Problem

toshi’s team reported they struggle to engage the users with the app due to their lack of trust in the product, and lack of basic investments understanding.

The raised question: How can we redesign a portfolio overview which has all necessary information and is easy to understand for people who did not invest before?

The Users

According to the initial briefing interview with toshi, it is established the app targets users with the following characteristics:

Demographics: age 18-42 years old; live in Germany; all genders (but prefer focus on women).
Financial characteristics: Prefer cashless payment; have no prior investment experience or knowledge.

The Research

Research methods applied:
• Secondary research
• Competitors analysis
• 8 x Interviews (2 SME, 6 Users)
• 2 x Usability testing (on existing toshi's app)

The user interviews exposed their pain points around finances, savings, investments and retirement.
We discovered users are scared of losing their money, do not trust traditional financial players, yet are aware of the importance of taking care of their retirement. Also, we discovered they would like to educate themselves about investment, but are overwhelmed by the financial terms and stock market unstable behaviour.

Through the SME interviews, we clarified the importance of having a clear financial goal, and keeping a calm, long-term strategy mindset.

Ideating solutions

Considering the users' needs and pain points, we practiced brainstorming and crazy 8 methods and explored new ways to display the traditional investment portfolio

Design solutions we explored:
• Rethink what the users actually need to know in order to make an informed decision
• Bridge financial terms
• Model retirement as a tangible goal
• Separate investment strategy from happenings report.
• Add encouraging steps to engage the users

Following multiple prototyping and testing rounds, we created a new holistic design flow of the portfolio overview.

The Outcome

During the High-fi testing, users expressed more trust in the app as a financial tool, more understanding of their portfolio progress, and general calmness during the interaction.

toshi’s team integrated core insights from our research and new experience design features in their MVP launch:
embedded the tangible goal visualizations, the objective info and expert advice tabs, and more transparency about the portfolio breakdown.

The Design

toshi's team was open to a redesign of the app. Therefore, in order to better enhance the brand values and sense of reliability and security for the users, I've rebranded toshi's app, inspired by contemporary app design and using material design components.

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