design process
Development of new functionality in the DINN application
About the project
DINN is an investment service that aims to help people make better financial decisions and grow their wealth through investment products (investment funds) offered by Banco Actinver.
During 2022 and 2023, we did a brand redesign, which also influenced the redesign of the app’s user interface (see another case study). This visual change was a big win for the business, significantly improving engagement and retention of both existing and new users. Moreover, all our communication efforts became more aligned in better expressing the support and closeness that DINN seeks to provide as a business.
Although everything about the visual revamp was positive, we still had one issue: the product itself—meaning the app—wasn’t conveying that sense of guidance or financial support. It mainly showed investment product options but didn’t walk users through the app, teach them about their best options, help them understand complex concepts, or avoid technical jargon. We needed to change the user experience to communicate DINN's value proposition better.
Goals & Challenges
Do it in a short time
Don't lose focus on art direction
Achieve some quick wins that show a noticeable change
Involve several DINN team members
Consider any potential constraints *
* Actinver’s development processes aren’t fully agile, partly because of the complexity and security involved, and because they’re in the midst of a digital transformation. On the other hand, DINN is a smaller, younger team that’s much more agile. We had to find synergy between the two.
My Role & Responsabilities
My role in this project was leading a multidisciplinary team, creating and coordinating workshops that allowed us to quickly experiment with ideas, gather insights from real users, and propose the next steps for developing new features that would add value to the app.
Tools Used
Project Length
4 weeks:
Problem Understanding - 5 days
Ideation - 2 days
Prototyping - 2 days
User Testing - 1 day
Insights & Next Steps - 2 day
UX Flows & UI - 15 days
The Process
Problem Understanding
5 days
Ideation
2 days
Prototyping
2 days
User Testing
1 day
Insights & Next Steps
2 days
UX Flow & UI
15 days
Problem Understanding
We had a hypothesis on several levels: the DINN product wasn’t effectively conveying the benefit of using it. It didn’t guide users through their investing experience; it just offered products, leaving users to manage them without any knowledge.
In several sessions, I met with different stakeholders from the DINN team—from C-level execs to designers, finance, customer service, and more—to gather information that would help us understand the problem from different perspectives. The most relevant points or needs were:
How can we create more informed customers?
How do we help customers understand the benefits of investing?
How can we convey trust and peace of mind through the app?
How can we help our customers make better financial decisions?
How can we help our customers overcome their fear of investing?
How do we show information about investment funds without overwhelming users?
And many other questions...
By mapping the customer journey and identifying the user’s main thoughts, emotions, actions, and needs, we found that the most pain points were indeed in the product, whereas in other stages like discovery or loyalty, we received mostly positive feedback.
Based on those insights and with the approval of key stakeholders, we decided that the most important point to start addressing was:
How do we communicate the value of an investment (as a concept) VS just showing a percentage?
Ideation
Once we decided on the focus, our team started gathering information from experts in other areas of the bank (DINN is part of a Mexican bank, Actinver, which has been around for over 30 years) and from other products. We then began brainstorming possible solutions.
Prototyping
After considering several ideas, opinions, and examples, we decided to create a first prototype: "The client, who might be unsure about what to invest in, could answer a series of questions within the app, and we would then show them the best options based on their savings capacity, investment goals, risk tolerance, etc."
This new questionnaire would be linked to another, which is mandatory by Mexican law and asks specific questions to determine the client’s risk tolerance. We can’t change that questionnaire right now due to regulations.
User Testing
Now, we had to validate this idea with real users before developing it. We only had one day for testing, so we invited five DINN clients (with specific characteristics) to test the prototype.
Based on the insights and our timeline, we defined the next steps. In summary, the goal was to design the full experience now, considering all the factors, and consult experts from other areas to ensure the project was as feasible as possible.
UX Flow
After the test results we apply the insights and design the user flows considering all casuistics and business rules.
Final UI
Once we have all the flows, we design the interfaces with the final assets.
outcome
The project is still under development, once released we must constantly monitor it to evaluate the possibility of carrying out iterations.
I want to thank the DINN design team for all their dedication and effort in executing this project with the highest quality and achieving an excellent result that wouldn’t have been possible without teamwork * :
Stephanía Hawley - Designer
Axl Espada - UI designer
Israel Martínez - UX designer
All DINN team members involved in this project.