Seelie

Inspiration

The inspiration behind Seelie was to address the challenges young adults, especially college students, face in managing their finances. With financial tools often being overly complicated or dull, we wanted to create an engaging, visually intuitive platform that simplifies expense tracking and savings. Our goal was to build a design that resonates with Gen Z’s love for sleek interfaces and their need for financial clarity.

What it does

Seelie is a user-centric financial management tool that organizes expenses and savings into visually appealing, easy-to-digest charts. It categorizes spending, tracks deposits, calculates interest growth, and provides actionable insights—all designed to simplify financial management for young adults.

To promote financial literacy, Seelie also includes a 30-second video feature that explains financial terms and concepts unfamiliar to the new generation. These bite-sized, engaging videos are designed to demystify terms like “compound interest,” “credit scores,” and “budgeting strategies,” empowering users with the knowledge they need to make smarter financial decisions. This feature bridges the gap between functionality and education, helping users not just manage their finances but also understand them.

How we built it

We built Seelie entirely on Figma, leveraging its advanced prototyping and collaboration features to create a seamless user journey. Our process included: 1. User Research: Identifying pain points in existing financial tools through surveys and interviews. 2. Wireframing: Rapid iteration of layouts to ensure usability and clarity. 3. Prototyping: Designing interactive components like category breakdowns, pie charts, and savings trackers. 4. Design System: Establishing a consistent color palette, typography, and reusable components to maintain visual harmony. 5. Feedback Loops: Regular testing and feedback sessions to refine the design.

Challenges we ran into

1. Balancing Simplicity and Detail: Designing an interface that is minimal and visually appealing while still providing enough financial detail to be useful was a key challenge. Ensuring clarity without overwhelming the user required constant iteration.
   1. Engaging Gen Z: Creating a design that resonates with Gen Z’s preferences for modern, sleek, and interactive experiences while still maintaining the professionalism and trustworthiness needed for a financial tool.
   2. Time Constraints: Working within the limited timeframe of the UXathon to ideate, prototype, and refine the design meant we had to prioritize features and focus on the core functionality.
   3. Data Visualization: Ensuring that financial data, like expense breakdowns and savings progress, is presented in a way that is not only accurate but also intuitive and visually engaging required careful attention to chart design and hierarchy.
   4. Collaboration Efficiency: Coordinating real-time collaboration on Figma among team members, while incorporating feedback effectively, was challenging in a fast-paced setting.
   5. User Testing Feedback: Rapidly incorporating feedback from testing into the design without compromising our timeline and maintaining consistency in the prototype was a significant hurdle.

These challenges pushed us to innovate and focus on delivering a high-quality design that balances aesthetics, usability, and functionality.

What's next for Seelie

1. Enhanced Interactivity: Expanding the prototype to include more detailed interactions, like budget alerts and goal tracking.
   1. Mobile-First Design: Optimizing the interface for mobile users, as they make up the majority of our target audience.
   2. Dark Mode: Adding a dark mode feature to enhance usability and aesthetics for Gen Z users.
   3. Advanced Insights: Designing AI-driven recommendations for smarter financial planning.
   4. Usability Testing: Conducting in-depth usability testing to refine the prototype and explore its full potential.

Built With

• figma