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Passion Project for Bethel School of Technology
Designed for kids (Age 6-12)

Kids Budgeting App


What if: In one generation we could solve the debt problem in America.



Overview

In 2021, 80% of American’s live in debt
13% believing they will never get out.
Only 1 in 3 American’s have a written budget
65% have no idea what they spent last month.
For most North American’s, budgeting is a foreign concept and debt is a way of life handed down from generation to generation, with no visible way out.

The Problem

Parents of children age 6-12 need an easy, efficient and unobtrusive way to teach their children how to delay instant gratification when budgeting, so they can set them up for future financial success.

The Solution

Design a straightforward digital budgeting product, for kids 6-12 and their parents, that contains user profiles with separate accounts, and rewards for meeting financial goals.

My Role

illustration: man sitting by tree
User Research
Design Strategy
User Interviews
Competitive Analysis
illustration: man juggling
Affinity Mapping
User Persona’s
Card Sorting
Information Architecture
User Flow
illustration: man at computer
Wireframes
Usability Testing
Visual Design
Prototyping


Project Timeline

6

35 +


Weeks

Frames

User Research

User research consists of surveys and user interviews to determine the biggest challenges and optimal solution to meet user needs.
95% of parents desire a high level of involvement in the teaching process
pie graph
75% of parents want to teach their kids about budgeting
bar graph



Market Analysis

While there are a number of products on the market. Only two could be considered top competitors. Most of them were either missing features, had a poor user interface, or were overly confusing for children to use.
market table

User Insights

Key Insight 1

While many parents start out teaching their children to budget. They found continuing to do so was incredibly cumbersome, with products that often didn’t fit their lifestyle.

Key Insight 2

While parents have grown up with physical products, their kids are growing up in a digital world and would enjoy a digital product more.

Key Insight 3

Parents want their kids to learn the value of money, the amount of work it takes to earn; and as a result, not to waste it. Kids, need a goal that will inspire them to save.

Key Insight 4

While parents list Savings, Giving, and Spending as the most important values to teach their kids, Children naturally lean toward spending and giving. Focusing on these three priorities will meet the needs of both parents, and children.
floating away

User Persona's

User Persona’s clearly outline the collective experience of interviewed users. Their insights are summarized to help us gain empathy for our target user while designing.
user persona Alex

Goals

Teaching kids the value of money
Define why they deserve something
Teach that there are many ways to give
When in debt spending is limited

Challenges

Doesn’t enjoy formal teaching
Believes physical products are better for teaching value than digital
Finds most digital products cumbersome
Finds it hard to stay consistent with teaching kids about budgeting
user persona Andre

Goals

Wants to give to help the poor
Wants to buy cool stuff
Desires to be more responsible
Interested in learning how to save

Challenges

Doesn’t have much money and often loses money to his siblings
Finds it hard to save for more valuable things
Usually sorry after he spends money on candy and cheap toys
Has money to give but doesn’t know where to give it
user persona Jamie

Goals

Teach her son about consequences
Able to add bonus amounts for chores
Save for bigger things of value
Teach generosity.

Challenges

Hard to find the time to teach
Tends to micromanage her sons finances
Struggles to align her son with the values she feels are important
Son often plays with and loses his money

Site Map

The site map outlines the overall layout for the final product. Fully designed with users in mind.
site-map
kids sitemap

For the Parents

The second branch is the parents area, where they can adjust parental controls, pay allowance, and provide or deny access to specific features.
parents sitemap

User Flow

User Flow demonstrates how a user will move through a product while utilizing the key features.
user flow user flow

Wireframes

Wireframes outline the iteration process of an initial concept and determine the final design layout of a product.
wireframe intro

Wireframes

Wireframes outline the iteration process of an initial concept and determine the final design layout of a product.

Wireframe Sketches

sketch wireframes sketch wireframes 2

Wireframe Hi-Fidelity

lo-fi wireframes lo-fi wireframes 2

Style Guide

Helvetica Neue
Page Headline | Bold 22pt
Sub Header | Bold 18pt

Title Case | Bold 14pt

Text Heading | Regular 12pt

Text | Thin 12pt

Icons & buttons
Color Pallet

Visual Design

For visual design, the goal of keeping the product fun and engaging for kids, while still maintaining functionality was primary. Here are a couple of the design iterations.
visual design comparison

Secured Accounts

Password Protected with a personal PIN
Parental Oversight and account Management
Savings, Spending, Giving breakdown
Adjustable deposit if kids want to give or save extra
secured account gif

Dream Purchase

Kids choose a ‘dream purchase’ item
Record the amount saved toward this item
Monthly spending is deducted from this amount
Once the goal is reached the item is automatically shipped
spending gif

Long Term Savings

Interest rewards when reaching long term goals
Receive funds marked for specific goals
savings gif

Giving Portal

Search for, discover, and support a charity
Regular giving will award badges
Total giving tracked, with stories of impact
spending gif




Wrap Up

The goal of this project was to create a straightforward and useful budgeting product, that would allow parents to seamlessly fit budgeting into their already busy lives. After, completing user research and multiple iterations of visual design, i believe this product solves the problem outlined at the beginning of this case study. In creating and designing this product, the greatest challenge was finding parents to gain research insights from. After 6 weeks of research, problem solving and ideation, the result is a much needed tool for parents to teach their children about the value of budgeting. The product is now ready to move into usability testing.
View the Prototype






© Micah Andre Bergen 2021