⁕ Prelude

MEDIUM

Figma

ROLE

Research, Interaction, Prototyping, Strategy

PROJECT TIMEFRAME

1 Quarter

During my internship at Curu Credit, I led the redesign of a key feature to help users more efficiently access their personalized financial solutions. The goal was to align Curu’s offerings with its mission: empowering users to achieve significant financial milestones, from living debt-free to buying a home.

About Curu

Curu is a for-profit financial platform launched in 2017, originally offering credit monitoring services. Over time, its offerings have expanded to include bill negotiation tools, AI-powered personal assistants, and more.

The Challenge

I was tasked with remaining the “happy path” for Curu's solutions page, a critical feature where users access personalized recommendations based on their credit report. Not having a streamlined way to access these curated solutions resulted in user frustration, reduced engagement, and lost opportunities for Curu.

⁕ Research

Through a combination of user research and product analysis, I uncovered critical challenges affecting how users interacted with Curu’s solutions page.

The User

A primary user group identified through research was adults aged 25-44 with an average credit score in the mid-500s. Three key pain points identified that needed to be addressed to make this project successful were:

Navigation: Users are not getting to where they need to go, it’s hard to find solutions
Personalization: How are their options personalized?
Empty State: Why is this showing me nothing?

⁕ Competitive Audit

To guide the redesign process, I conducted a thorough competitive audit, analyzing the user experiences of SoFi and RocketMoney—two leaders in the financial platform space. The audit focused on four key areas: visual design, navigation, mobile responsiveness, and content quality.

Visual Design

SoFi’s clean, minimalistic design offered a more polished and user-friendly interface, while RocketMoney’s busier, more colorful layout could overwhelm users.

Navigation & Information Architecture

SoFi excelled with its organized, intuitive menu structure, whereas RocketMoney’s interface required more scrolling, which could hinder user flow.

Mobile Responsiveness

Both platforms performed well on mobile, but SoFi’s design was slightly more streamlined for smaller screens.

Content Quality & Clarity

SoFi presented clear, digestible content, while RocketMoney used more financial jargon, which may confuse less experienced users.

Key Takeaways

SoFi’s clean design, clear navigation, and simple content style informed my approach to create an intuitive, personalized experience for Curu’s users.

⁕ Wireframing & Low-Fi Prototypes

I thought about the different ways people navigate, familiarized myself with these “modes of transportation” through the detailed competitive analysis, and then created versions of these concepts. I also took some time to create a user journey map and a user persona to drive the design-thinking process. Did you know that 80% of all millennials have student debt? Ouch.

Why Cards?

One thing became apparent when wireframing—cards were the way to go. Endless scrolling to get to solutions was not an effective way to relay important information to users.

Cards offer a digestible, modular way to present information that allows users to quickly scan for relevant solutions without feeling overwhelmed by long lists.

⁕ Delivered Solution

What was left was to decide on which card design to go with. Vertical formatting ended up feeling heavily misaligned with the text being left aligned and the image being centered. Keeping all the content within the card additionally left users (and myself) struggling to understand the hierarchy of information.

The Final Design

Through collaboration with other product designers and key stakeholders, the delivered design featured:

Horizontal card-based navigation: Simplifies discovery of financial solutions while aligning with user expectations.
Personalized touches: Solutions dynamically populate based on credit score, with UX copy incorporating user names to create a more tailored experience.
“Eject button” functionality: A fallback navigation option allowing users to view all solution categories on one screen.

⁕ Outcome

Although quantitative results are pending, the redesign has already made a significant impact with usability and brand alignment.

The simplified navigation and personalized experiences are hypothesized to reduce frustration and increase engagement. Likewise, the redesign realigns Curu’s solutions page with its mission of guiding users toward financial milestones.

⁕ Lessons Learned

The most valuable insight from this project was the importance of defining the "right solution." For me, this went beyond just addressing immediate pain points—it meant crafting a seamless user journey where every interaction felt intuitive, purposeful, and aligned with user needs.

The “Right” Solution

I learned that the "right solution" isn’t necessarily the first or most obvious one. It requires a deep understanding of the user’s perspective, thoughtful iteration, and a willingness to challenge initial assumptions. By staying focused on user pain points—such as navigation and personalization—I ensured the final design not only resolved functional issues but also delivered an experience that felt effortless and meaningful.

This project also reinforced the value of collaboration and feedback. Regular discussions with colleagues and stakeholders helped refine the design, ensuring it met both user needs and business goals. Iterating with input from others highlighted the importance of testing and adapting ideas, especially when working within constraints.

Ultimately, the right solution isn’t just about the product—it’s about empowering users to achieve their goals seamlessly and confidently. This perspective will continue to shape how I approach future design challenges.

Modernizing Card Design