Northbeam · Case Study / 01
0 → 1 Product
Modern banking for the next generation — building a trusted, intuitive platform that helps users understand, manage, and grow their finances.
Role
Product Designer
Timeline
12 Weeks
Platform
iOS & Android
Team
Product, Design & Engineering
02 — Scouting Report
Most banking apps move money. Few help people actually understand it.
Banking apps are built around transactions — balances, transfers, payments. Far fewer help people understand their financial habits or build confidence with money. People don’t just need somewhere to move money; they need clarity, trust, simplicity, and a sense of financial awareness.
73%
say managing money feels stressful
1 in 4
rarely review their finances
03 — Understanding the Court
Before designing a single screen, we listened to how people really feel about money.
8 user interviews
One-to-one sessions across income levels and money habits — from confident savers to anxious avoiders.
120 survey responses
“I check my balance, feel a little anxious, and close the app. I never really look at where it’s actually going.”
5 banking products
A competitive audit of five leading banking apps — most optimized for transactions and speed, almost none for understanding or confidence.
The old app felt like a coach who forgot everything I did yesterday. I needed something that remembered the work and pushed me to keep the run alive.
Maya Okonkwo
Beta athlete, 14-month member
04 — Reading the Room
Four insights shaped everything that followed.
Turning conversations and survey data into the core problems Northbeam had to solve.
P1
Financial information feels overwhelming
Dashboards throw numbers at people without context. Most users couldn’t tell what was normal, what was urgent, or what was safe to ignore.
P2
Users fear making mistakes
A quiet anxiety runs through everything. People worry a wrong tap will cost them money, so they avoid taking action at all.
P3
Budgeting tools go unused
Budgets get set up once and abandoned. They feel like chores, disconnected from the day-to-day decisions people actually make.
P4
Interfaces feel dated and cold
Many banking apps still look like spreadsheets. Nothing about them feels modern, human, or built to earn trust.
05 — Building the Franchise
Make banking feel approachable, intelligent, and empowering.
01
Transparency
Show people exactly where their money goes, in plain language, with the context to understand every number on screen.
02
Simplicity
Strip banking down to what matters — fewer decisions, clearer paths, and no jargon between a user and their money.
03
Confidence
Turn passive balances into active guidance, helping people feel in control of every decision they make.
04
Financial Growth
Gentle nudges, goals, and insights that turn everyday banking into long-term progress.
06 — Team Roster
Designing for three very different relationships with money.
01
Sarah · Young Professional
Earns well but feels scattered. Needs simple budget tracking and clear spending awareness to feel in control of her month.
Needs
Budget tracking
Spending awareness
02
David · Freelancer
Income arrives in waves. Needs cash-flow visibility and smarter savings management to smooth out the unpredictable months.
Needs
Cash flow visibility
Savings management
03
Emma · Student
New to managing money. Needs simplicity and built-in financial education to build good habits without feeling judged.
Needs
Simplicity
Financial education
07 — Season Journey
From first tap to financial confidence.
01
Discover
Hears about Courtside and explores what it offers.
02
Sign Up
Creates an account in under a minute.
03
Connect Accounts
Securely links existing bank accounts.
04
Track Spending
Sees every transaction, sorted and clear.
05
Save Money
Sets goals and automates small wins.
06
Build Confidence
Feels in control and keeps coming back.
08 — Championship Strategy
What ships now, and what we run next season.
Now shipping
Core Features
Accounts
Unified view of every linked account.
Transactions
Clean, categorized history in real time.
Analytics
Spending trends made simple to read.
Savings
Goals and automated set-asides.
Next up
Future Opportunities
Investments
A low-friction path into long-term growth.
Credit Tools
Build credit health with real clarity.
09 — Playbook Structure
One playbook, six clear plays.
Dashboard
Accounts
Transactions
Analytics
Goals
Settings
10 — Practice Sessions
Running the plays before they go live.
01
Dashboard concepts
Early layouts exploring how balances, insights, and quick actions sit together.
02
Transaction flows
Mapping how a transaction list reads, filters, and drills into detail.
03
Budget planning
Testing how goals and limits feel as simple, scannable progress.
11 — Training Camp
Three directions, one we took to the floor.
Direction A
Warm, editorial, confident
Selected
Direction B
Cool, clinical, minimal
Direction C
Soft, friendly, rounded
Selected Direction
Direction A — warm, editorial, and confident.
It carried the most personality without sacrificing trust — exactly the balance a fintech for everyday people needs.
12 — Team Identity
One system, head to toe.
Colors
Background
Surface
Raised
Ember
Ink
Typography
Aa
Syne — Display
Inter — Body & UI
Buttons
Cards
Icons
Charts
Components
Active
Default
13 — Championship Game
The final solution, screen by screen.
Five core screens carry the entire experience — each designed to make money feel understood, not just displayed.
01
Dashboard
Everything that matters, the moment you open the app.
Balances in context, the month at a glance, and the next smart move always one tap away.
Dashboard
$4,820.50
Total balance
02
Transaction History
A statement that finally reads like a story.
Every transaction categorized and explained in plain language — searchable and clear.
Transaction History
Analytics
03
Analytics
Spending trends you can actually act on.
Simple charts surface where money goes and how habits change, without the noise.
04
Goals
Saving that feels like winning, not sacrificing.
Set goals, automate small wins, and watch progress build week over week.
Goals
Emergency fund
70%
New laptop
45%
Vacation
30%
Profile
05
Profile
Control and trust, always within reach.
Security, preferences, and account settings organized so nothing ever feels hidden.
14 — In-Season Adjustments
What ships this season, and what comes next.
CORE
Core features
The foundation of Northbeam — the essentials every user relies on from day one, shipped in the first release.
Shipping now
✓
Accounts — every balance in one clear place
✓
Transactions — categorized and explained
✓
Analytics — spending trends and insights
✓
Savings — goals that track themselves
FUTURE
Future opportunities
Where Northbeam goes next — features that deepen trust and turn a banking app into a true financial partner.
On the roadmap
✓
Investments — grow wealth alongside spending
✓
AI insights — proactive, personalized guidance
✓
Credit tools — build credit with confidence
✓
Shared accounts — manage money together
15 — Season Results
Northbeam is a concept — so instead of inventing metrics, here’s what success would look like.
Clarity
Improved financial visibility
every number shown in context
Calm
Reduced cognitive load
fewer decisions, less jargon
Speed
Faster transaction tracking
spending understood at a glance
Growth
Better savings engagement
goals that build confidence
16 — Locker Room Reflection
What designing Northbeam taught me.
01
Trust is the foundation of fintech UX
Every interaction either builds or erodes trust. In finance, clarity and predictability matter far more than novelty or delight.
02
Simplicity beats feature overload
Users didn’t want more tools — they wanted fewer, clearer ones. Saying no to features was the most valuable design decision I made.
03
Financial data needs hierarchy
Raw numbers overwhelm. Giving every figure context and a clear hierarchy is what turns data into genuine understanding.
04
Education can be embedded into workflows
Guidance doesn’t need a separate tab. The best moments to teach are inline — right where a decision is being made.
17 — Next Season
Every great season leads to the next challenge.
Northbeam is one chapter — I’m always looking for the next 0→1 product to design from the ground up.