Young Canadians find themselves facing increasing financial instability with a lack of confidence, literacy and motivation. A lack of approachable, informative, centralized, personal, and rewarding experiences has left young Canadians feeling scared about their financial future, minimizing their ability to build long-term wealth & success.

Bloom helps young Canadians build confidence through a tailored, simple, accessible and engaging experience, instilling long-term perseverance to goals with a wealth of intuitive & impactful features. With Bloom, users can navigate the ever-uncertain financial climate with clarity, watching their wealth blossom for years to come.

Initial topic selection was influenced by years of personal experience navigating financial challenges, hearing from close friends and discussing with online community members. A convergent thinking activity was also utilized to eliminate 20+ other ideas.

To ensure a realistic scope, research questions were outlined and served as a “North Star” for primary and secondary research. The focus involved identifying problems in which meaningful and impactful change for Canadians could be achieved.

To minimize bias during interviews, surveys and user testing, numerous activities were completed to identify, acknowledge and mitigate biases moving forward.

Secondary research highlighted the need for financial support for younger Canadian generations who face increasing challenges including cost of living & increasing debt. To reinforce this, a WWH activity was used to refine & solidify the target audience.

User interviews with three participants were conducted to better understand and empathize with the financial challenges currently facing young Canadians. Diving straight into into primary research enabled effective & efficient collection of user data.

To further validate the challenges faced by young Canadians a survey with 25+ questions was distributed and over 15+ responses reinforced previously collected data, trends and patterns from user interviews.

Primary and secondary research informed the creation of four user personas, converging the wider target audience into distinct subsects of users that Bloom could cater too. Each persona allowed for a deeper understanding and empathizing with their needs.

Existing competitors fail to provide engaging, personal and long-term solutions to address the financial needs of young Canadians. A competitor analysis identified gaps within the market, highlighting the need for a centralized, personal, informative & supportive solution.

Secondary research was triangulated to uncover gaps in the market and opportunities for intervention. To help young Canadians with their finances, the solution would need to incorporate a range of motivational, informative, central, rewarding and personal tools.

Bloom’s development began by planning, testing and refining the applications structure. A decision matrix highlighted impactful features, while card sorting and tree testing helped with understanding a users progression and thought process while navigating Bloom.

To outline the initial and long-term strategy for Bloom, a experienced based roadmap was created. This solidified the initial set of features, pages and sections for the MVP, with plans for further scaling in the future. Highlights included the analytics & education pages.

A user flow diagram was used to map out features outlined during a decision matrix activity. Exit points and opportunities for streamlining were identified and adjusted in advance, improving both the user flow and efficiency of the workflow.

Low-fidelity wireframes were utilized to visualize initial features for the solution. A focus was place on refining visual hierarchy & information architecture, to ensure ease-of-use and accessibility for young Canadians.

During Bloom’s development, over 10+ users provided feedback during testing sessions for low and high fidelity prototypes. These insights were triangulated and utilized to inform future iterations. This ensured Bloom addressed the core needs and challenges of users.

Insights gleaned from user testing informed over 30+ changes to the design and structure of Bloom. For instance, users noted a lack of personalization and clarity on the analytics page, inspiring the addition of a status feature, and next steps under financial feedback.

Bloom is a digital platform helping young Canadians aged 13-30 build financial confidence. Bloom instills confidence through clarity, personalization, accessible education, simplicity and centralization. Users navigate a tailored experience, that supports and rewards action. Bloom helps users finances blossom, building long-term perseverance, wealth & success.

After completion of the initial MVP, Bloom was tested one final time with a series of users to gauge the overall impact of the final solution. The results were conclusive: In every area, Bloom succeeded either fully or partially in achieving it’s main goals,

Creating Bloom over eight months meant many late-nights, trips to campus, testing, evaluating, presenting and more. To effectively manage burnout throughout my design process, I ensured my work was well planned, included breaks, drew inspiration from real-world experiences, and focused on user-feedback to stay creatively charged.

The pressure to create a cumulative project initially felt overwhelming and daunting. Over the course of eight months, I utilized immense organization and planning skills to successfully deliver Bloom to completion. I am immensely proud and satisfied with the final solution, forged through months of research, iterating, testing and delivering.