PROJECT

CASE STUDY

Kinvest: Researching and Designing a Gamified Financial Literacy App for Children

Timeline

‍

July - August 2024

Roles
‍
‍

Full Stack Designer
Product Designer
Brand Designer

Methods

‍‍

UX Research
Competitive Analysis
Information Architecture (IA)
Wireframing
Prototyping
Branding

Tools

‍

Figma
Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator

01 Context

Educational app for kids teaching them about finances, managing debit and credit cards, and stocks.

IMPACTS

Contributing to the successful sale of 30+ products and optimizing revenue through streamlining logistics.
Designed 100+ UI components within a scalable design system, improving developer handoff efficiency by 25%.
Developed high-fidelity UI components and a scalable design system for cross-platform consistency, creating 4+ products, packaging, designs, and product pages.

02 Ideation

Problem

Parents struggle to find accessible tools that combine educational value with practical application to teach financial literacy to their children from an early age.

I came across this problem because of my little brother (he's not little anymore and stands at approximately 6 feet tall...) but he recently got interested in stocks last summer. Being 14 years old and only having the education of 10 Instagram reels, he was obviously denied starting his stock journey. This however piqued my interest in financial literacy in a younger demographic.

Complexity of Financial Concepts

Limited Access to Age Appropriate Resources

Lack of Guidance and Mentorship

Hard Time Navigating Complex Interfaces

Solution

Providing an easier way for families to navigate finances introducing stocks, money, credit and debit, and loans to kids to prepare them for the future.

Kinvest will let users learn essential financial literacy skills, including budgeting, saving, investing, and understanding credit and loans.

By allowing the ability to
1. Track financial goals
2. Simulate investment scenarios
3. Practice budgeting in a safe environment

We will measure effectiveness by assessing user engagement levels, improvements in knowledge through quizzes and assessments, offering expert guidance and support, lessons and tutorials, and positive learnings.

03 Research and Insights

“Many young people lack the basic financial knowledge and skills to manage money, and without early intervention, these deficiencies can lead to costly mistakes in adulthood.”— Lusardi, A., & Mitchell, O. S. (2014).

‍The Economic Importance of Financial Literacy: Theory and Evidence. Journal of Economic Literature

There’s a gap between what schools teach and what kids actually need to manage real-life spending, saving, and investing. Kinvest is here to close that gap, making money skills fun, visual, and trackable before bad habits form.

"Honestly, I’m not sure how to even explain building credit to my kid. No one ever taught me and I had to learn on my own when I moved to America, I don’t know where to start, but I do believe in starting early"
Parent of a middle schooler

"My son thinks money just comes from the card. He has no idea what things actually cost or how long we work to earn it. I think him getting a job will help but being so young there should be a better way."
Parent of a 9-year-old

04 Design Process

06 Outcomes and Reflections

Reflections

This was a fun project espcially in terms of designing for children. Designing Kinvest taught me how powerful interaction design can be in making intimidating topics like money feel approachable and even fun for kids. It also taught me how impactful and accessible this type of design has to be and simple to learn for younger people.

NEXT STEPS

Moving forward, my focus will be on
1. Expanding the Curriculum
Breaking down more advanced financial concepts (like interest, credit, and investing) into bite-sized breakdowns.
2. Usability Testing
Conducting regular user testing with both kids and parents to understand what works, what confuses users, and how learning actually happens through the app.
3. Iterating the Design
Refining the interface and interactions based on what makes learning more intuitive, fun, and self-directed.

Ultimately, Kinvest isn’t just about making money “fun” — it’s about giving kids real tools for life. By continuing to test, refine, and build, we can help close the financial literacy gap early.

01 Context

02 Ideation

Problem

Solution

03 Research and Insights

How Might We

leverage interactive learning to make financial literacy engaging and accessible for families empowering children to build skills in managing money and preparing for the future?

04 Design Process

05 Final Design

06 Outcomes and Reflections

Thanks for reading!
Check out my other work >

Kinvest: Mobile App to Educate Children on Financial Literacy

Grit: Mobile App to Educate Children on Financial Literacy

Xchange: Mobile App to Educate Children on Financial Literacy

That's all.

01 Context

02 Ideation

Problem

Solution

03 Research and Insights

How Might We

leverage interactive learning to make financial literacy engaging and accessible for families empowering children to build skills in managing money and preparing for the future?

04 Design Process

05 Final Design

06 Outcomes and Reflections

Thanks for reading!Check out my other work >

Kinvest: Mobile App to Educate Children on Financial Literacy

Grit: Mobile App to Educate Children on Financial Literacy

Xchange: Mobile App to Educate Children on Financial Literacy

That's all.

Thanks for reading!
Check out my other work >