With Accessibility Team
We worked closely with our internal accessibility team to make sure all the design solutions met the latest accessibility standards. Their expertise and guidelines were super helpful in making sure the experience was inclusive for everyone, both visually and in terms of how it works.
Collaboration
With the Client
We collaborated closely with FINRA’s internal stakeholders, whose ongoing feedback helped guide our design decisions to align with both organizational goals and user needs.
In the later stages, stakeholder input on our mid-fidelity prototype revealed a preference for a more traditional and trustworthy visual style, consistent with FINRA’s brand. While this contrasted with some user insights, we facilitated a dedicated session to present two design directions—one based on brand expectations, the other on user-centered research. This open dialogue led to a refined, aligned design strategy, which was positively received during the final presentation.
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This project emphasized inclusive design as key to building a risk assessment tool and an accessibility guide to inform future FINRA tools. (Project under NDA – Details Obscured)
Duration
10 weeks
Role
UX Research Lead
Responsibilities
Secondary Research, Survey, Interview, Affinitization, Userability Testing, Sensory Cue Workshop, Co-creation Workshop, Model Experience Wheel, User Journey Mapping, Wireframing
Tools
Figma
Figjam
Maze
Team
19 students from 8 majors
| Overview
As part of a 10-week collaboration with FINRA, our team was entrusted with enhancing the accessibility and usability of digital tools for a diverse and extensive user base. Operating within a highly regulated environment, we prioritized achieving a harmonious balance between clarity, compliance, and user empowerment. This project underscored the significance of inclusive design in fostering trust, bolstering user confidence, and aligning organizational objectives with impactful, human-centered outcomes.
FINRA's Goal
Empower and protect investors by making financial tools and resources accessible and understandable.
Challenges
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Create a financial tool that educates without giving advice.
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Enhance accessibility design guidelines and communication for new public-facing investment tools.
Outcome
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Risk Tolerance Tool for Novice Investors.
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Accessibility-Guidelines Website and Training Deck to support their mission of financial education and inclusivity.
My Responsibility
1. Led a team of 10 designers as the research lead to develop a financial risk tolerance tool tailored for novice investors. Created the interview guide and collected over 109 survey responses within 48 hours, enabling rapid, insight-driven decision-making. Synthesized both primary and secondary research, affinitizing findings to identify key user pain points and develop three distinct user archetypes.
2. Directed the analysis of 2,000+ data points, using the insights to guide concept development. Contributed to the creation of a model experience wheel, helping structure and inspire ideation sessions.
3. Planned and facilitated a user testing workshop with 10 participants, utilizing Maze to conduct sensory cues and usability testing aligned with WCAG accessibility standards.
4. Collaborated on concept ideation and interface design, contributing to mid-fidelity wireframes and five high-fidelity desktop screens and five mobile screens for the final product.
Key Takeaways
1. Led end-to-end research efforts, from survey design to user interviews and data analysis, shaping a user-centered approach grounded in real insights.
2. Strengthened my ability to align user needs with design goals, helping craft a financial tool that balanced intuitive UX with complex user scenarios.
3. Built experience in collaborative leadership, leading a team of 10 designers through research synthesis, ideation, and testing while fostering a shared design vision.
5. Learned to translate research insights into strategic design decisions, using user archetypes, experience wheels, and affinity mapping to drive concept generation.
| The Approach
Mixed Method Research
We conducted secondary research, primarily focusing on investment, investment risk, customer behaviors, and industry trends. Subsequently, we conducted five interviews and a 109-response survey with target users. Our objective was to comprehensively understand both the emotional and cognitive barriers that new investors encounter and the challenges they face in accessing and comprehending financial tools.
Synthesis and Insights
Our findings underscored the necessity of adopting more uniform design standards, employing clear and concise language, and providing adequate support for users with diverse levels of familiarity and accessibility requirements. These insights served as a guiding principle in the development of inclusive design strategies that harmoniously combine simplicity, interactivity, and precision. We developed a model experience wheel to determine product alignment with user needs and motivations.
Prototyping and Testing
To ground our work in genuine user requirements, we successfully conducted nine usability tests and facilitated a sensory cue workshop. These sessions enabled us to gain insights into how users interpret content, navigate interfaces, and respond to visual, auditory, and interaction cues.
| The Impact
Evidence-Based Design
The iterative testing and prototyping process gave stakeholders confidence in the solutions we proposed, while also aligning internal teams around user-validated design choices.
Inclusive Experience
Our approach aimed to reduce barriers for novice or underserved users and enhance the clarity and approachability of the overall user experience.
Scalability
The insights and design frameworks we developed laid the groundwork for more accessible and consistent experiences across future tools and platforms.
Good to see you here! 😇🧋
The contents of this project are protected by an NDA. Feel free to message me on LinkedIn to learn more.