Key Lime Interactive is a Customer Experience and User Experience research, strategy, and full-service agency focused on helping companies take a human-first approach to building better brand experiences, products and services.

Overview

Key Lime Interactive partnered with our team to investigate why Gen Z college students struggle with financial literacy and why current tools fail to meet their needs.
The project produced research insights, user-validated wireframes, and documentation for future development.

Problem

Gen Z college students face major gaps in budgeting, taxes, saving, and investing. Existing tools are overwhelming, unengaging, and misaligned with their behavior.
Students want help managing money but lack motivation, foundational knowledge, and trust in current solutions.

My Role

I contributed to research, synthesis, and design through:
• Literature review and competitive analysis
• User interviews and workshop facilitation
• Affinity mapping and insight synthesis
• Sketching, low-fi wireframing, and mid-fi design creation
• Usability testing and iteration

Key Insights

• Students rely heavily on banking apps but ignore budgeting features.
• Emotional factors (stress, avoidance, impulsivity) shape most financial decisions.
• Users want simple, automated guidance rather than manual input.
• Budgeting is the highest-need, lowest-supported skill area.

Solution

We designed an AI-assisted budgeting tool integrated into existing banking apps, focused on clarity and ease of use:

AI Budget Generation
Auto-creates a personalized monthly budget based on spending history.

Simple Breakdown View
Clear visuals for categories, sub-categories, and adjustments.

Guided Explanations
Short clarifications that build trust and reduce confusion.

Low-Friction Interaction
Minimal input required; focus on awareness and habit-building.

Impact

User testing showed:
• Higher trust when budgeting tools live inside familiar banking environments
• Improved understanding when features were clearly explained
• Strong preference for automated budgeting over manual workflows
• Better alignment between tool behavior and student motivations

Next Steps

Further testing, high-fidelity design, and exploration of long-term features like:
• Calendar-based future budgeting
• Notifications for overspending
• Integration with existing bank financial tools

Documentation

• Full Research Report
• Mid-Fidelity Wireframes
• Design Rationale & Handoff Materials