Abridged presentation of SaveUp, a UX design project featured on http://www.bendedrick.com

1. Design by Ben Dedrick and Michael Iseri
January 22, 2014

2. about the site
SaveUp is a website and mobile application for users who want a fun, easy, and
rewarding way to meet their financial goals. It interfaces with nearly all banks, credit
unions, retirement funds, and other financial services to monitor users’ spending and
saving habits, and rewards them for making smart financial decisions. Unlike Mint or
other finance tracking services, SaveUp encourages users to overcome their debt or
save for the future by offering high-value prize drawings to users who make consistent
steps toward their goals.
about the project
SaveUp is a startup based in San Francisco, CA. This project was assigned as part of
General Assembly’s UX Design Immersive class; the assigned objective was to
increase SaveUp’s user acquisition and retention by examining and redesigning the
onboarding process.
This project focuses on the Web implementation of SaveUp.

3. design principles
Change company perception
Help users see SaveUp as caring, helpful, trustworthy, and fun.
Emphasize what’s different
Make sure users can immediately see why SaveUp is worth checking out.
Offer clear value proposition
This strategy for encouraging savings has been used before, and it worked. People really
do win prizes from the site; ensure users know this.
Show how it works
Use clear visual language and simple copy text to help users understand the process.
Encourage trust from users
Endorsements from major publications, partnerships with banks and credit unions,
believable testimonials from real users, and exciting visual design all give users a
stronger sense that SaveUp is a site they can trust.

4. Prototype

5. original site flow
User arrives at
front page
Explores to
learn more
about SaveUp
join
Tour Page
Other Tour
Page
Browse prizes
Register
Account Page
Browse, invite, or
linkSubmit
Link
CompleteAccount link flow
invite
Browse
Link
Sign-up page Dashboard
Submit
Verify
User receives email

7. personas
Alexa Bortoncan
Photographer’s Assistant
24 years – Santa Fe, New Mexico
Technical Comfort: Below Average for Gen-Y
Back Story
• Lots of student loan debt; no savings; some credit card debt
• Not much leftover from paycheck to put towards savings
• No long-term or retirement savings
Motivations
• Concerned about ending up broke, open to trying something new
• Heard about SaveUp from a friend
Frustrations
• Fears falling for scam. Getting suspicious since she hasn’t won
anything
• Not getting much advice that is relevant to her situation
Ideal Experience
• Feels like she’s making progress towards paying off credit card debt
• Opens a savings account with SaveUp’s help
• Gets to play more often / earns more credits for her hard work
Julie Holt-Ramirez
School Nurse
32 years – Texas
Technical Comfort:Average for Gen-X
Back Story
• Got married after graduating from Texas A&M, has 2 kids
• Loves her job and helping people
• Worried about paying kids’ college tuition, and retirement
• Loves couponing, shoe shopping, and “getting a deal!”
Motivations
• Read about SaveUp in parents magazine
• Wants to save and be more organized
• Loves the prizes and chances to win on SaveUp
Frustrations
• Has trouble connecting accounts (forgot passwords or husband has them)
• Finds the games boring / repetitive
• Wants to be more organized, but she can’t get her husband to look at
SaveUp “because it’s a game”
Ideal Experience
• More coupons and discounts
• More games / less repetition
• More financial visualizations that she can show her husband
• Still really loves SaveUp

8. case study
We started by meeting with SaveUp to learn
more about how they wanted the company to
be perceived, and what they saw as their biggest
challenges.
Findings
The company should feel fun and friendly, but
without sacrificing safety or security. SaveUp
genuinely wants to help users feel empowered
to conquer their finances.
Opportunities
Redesigning the front page would help
communicate branding and promote user trust
from the first time they see the site. Rethinking
the signup and account link flows will ensure
that users don’t drop off once they’ve started
to explore the site.

9. Method:
Make sure that a clear presentation of the site’s features
greets users as soon as they arrive.
Maintain a clear call to action on the main page.
Reinforce the features throughout the onboarding process.
increase visibility of value proposition
proposed solution 1

10. Method:
Display more specific endorsements from trusted publications
as they become available.
Mention partnerships with banks, credit unions, and other
institutions.
Explain SaveUp’s basis in PLS research to prove that the
concept works.
Example: Mint
proposed solution 2
refine language and content to
improve user trust.

11. Method:
Add interactivity and more dynamic content panels to the front page.
Refine visual styling.
proposed solution 3
improve visual fidelity to catch new
users quickly.

12. early concepts

13. Ben Dedrick
bdedrick@gmail.com
For more information about the design
process for this and other projects:
CONTACT ME