Cognitive load minimization along a user journey 🧘♀️
Background
Abound is the new way of getting a loan: fast, flexible, and personalized.
Their mission is to increase access to affordable loans.
My role within this project was to find a way to make the user trust the service and use it efficiently while the business side benefits from it.
By working on the web app redesign, I followed the rule 'one step at a time,' which made the flow much longer technically, but it felt smooth.
The challenges also appeared, of course, and we successfully solved them with the client's fantastic team. Learn more about the product by visiting getabound.com
The approach
One step at a time.
It's a lot to ask from the user who wants to get a loan. Sensitive information complex scenarios apply.
So, visual language is used only when needed. Getting confirmation to get a loan might take a few days, and the process is divided into a few stages. We ensured the users understood where they were in this journey, and the app communicated back to inform them about the status.
As a result, the user journey became longer, but the clarity of each step gave a feeling of a smooth process. Which, in the end, goes faster.
The design before and after revamp
The process
Discovery
Everything starts with research. Countless messages, dozens of Figma pages, zoom calls, and brainstorming sessions result from excellent teamwork lead to the result.
Customer Journey Map created for defining the main gaps in the journey
👉 Additional information, files and research documentation can be presented and given upon request.
Figma file screenshot on the prototype stage.
👉 Additional information, files and research documentation can be presented and given upon request.
Step-by-step procedures:
1. UX Audit
2. Brainstorming & rapid prototyping
3. Idea selection
4. Edge cases and scenarios refinement
5. UI Design
6. Dev hand-off for web and mobile
7. UI & UX Quality Assurance
Final product design, mobile screens
Behind the scenes
Together with a fantastic team of entrepreneurs, PM, sales, and finance representatives, we reached the point of having a product fully ready for development. With just a few, but great minds the result was solid, green (literally) and ready to go.
UX flows covered for the user:
Pre-approval
1️⃣ Eligibility journey
2️⃣ Finalization journey
3️⃣ Applied user [for a loan]
Post-approval
4️⃣ Intro + Phone number confirmation
5️⃣ Identity card scan and approval
6️⃣ Taking a video selfie
7️⃣ Identity card scan and approval
8️⃣ Setting up a PIN-code
9️⃣ Credit card connection
🔟 Product features discovery
Additional scenarios
Along that list are all the edge-case pathways that might lead to the user drop, unexpected problems, or internet connection trouble throughout the process. Sign-in flows with different methods for different types of users, help pages, and a lot more was also in the list.
Additional work
I was also asked to design a landing page, an app icon, a web version of an app, and lots of small marketing materials, which are part of a good branding setup.
The client has hired the branding agency for the logotype, brand guidelines, and color palette, which process I proudly joined. Together with the client and agency’s team, we found the best option for interface-friendly color combinations, fonts, and the modern-styled logo mark.
Design library
A solid design library is necessary for a scalable, young, and robust product.
For Abound, a structure of components has been set based on the atomic design principles, so in the future, it can be reused and enhanced as the product grows.
Few more gems
Suggested illustrations
Since the product is extraordinarily different from the others on the market (banking systems are usually blue, square, and dull, right?), I suggested adding an even more human touch to the brand by illustrating the app's welcome screens.
The client did not accept these illustrations in favor of the geometric shapes presented by the agency. Which, I agree, fits better to the product 👌
The chosen version for the color scheme of the UI was adjusted to a better contrast ratio score after the branding agency presented the final version of the graphic design materials for Abound.
Key takeaways
This project gave me solid proof that saving clicks is only sometimes a good way. A brand must have a lower cognitive load, clear messages, and friendly language to create pleasant, secure feelings — more than just a blue color and square shapes.
Marketing & presentation material examples with redesigned product
Thank you for reading this through. Feel free to request a design mentorship session with me for no cost on ADPlist, explore more of my career, and/or get in touch on LinkedIn.
