CATEGORY

UX Design • Feature

CLIENT

Nearside

Year

2022

Helping small businesses increase their limits.

Nearside is a financial technology company dedicated in providing accessible, transparent, and fair checking/lending products to help small businesses. With this new feature, we set out to solve the problems below within 2-3 weeks.

My role

As a product design intern on the Nearside design team, I led the design of the Account Limits feature experience. Over the course of 2 weeks, I worked alongside a product manager, a senior iOS developer, and received guidance from a senior designer. I helped to sketch ideas, wireframe, and prototype.

The key problems

Requiring customers to call customer service can be inconvenient and time-consuming, as it may involve waiting on hold, navigating through automated menus, and potentially speaking with multiple representatives.

Inconvenience

Not all customers may have the ability to call customer service during regular business hours, which can restrict their ability to request a credit limit increase.

Limited accessibility

Depending on the volume of customer calls, there may be delays in processing credit limit increase requests, leading to frustration for customers who need immediate access to higher credit limits.

Delays

Our goal

Make the limits increase process more intuitive, lean, and readily available while reducing reliance on customer service.

Considerations

⏲

The length and process of limit request review

☑︎☒

How will users be notified that their request is approved or declined?

ℹ

What information will be presented to the user?

Early ideation

We kicked off a design sprint with the lead Product Manager.

Using Figma as a remote collaboration tool, we gathered inspiration of how other forward-thinking banks craft their increase limits experiences, and shared what we like about them.

Then, we did a quick solution sketching together to end the sprint. This mini design sprint was condensed into 2 hours as our schedule were packed.

We started sketching the ideas on our minds. Our focus at this stage is to draw out as many ideas.

This is how the early wireframes looked like. On the left, we explored three button designs which had it’s own pros and cons. The first option matches other icon designs within app; however, it is not clear that it is a link. The second option is a text link which is more accessible, while the third option has an arrow button to indicate movement.

On the right, we mapped out three designs of the request form. The first option is a multi-page process which makes the process feel longer. The second option is one page with text boxes; however the page feels clustered. The third option includes a multiple choice selection which users can potentially select random answer rather than providing correct reasoning.

Final designs

Improved text: combining text link and effective copy

By integrating a text link with compelling copy, the ultimate design now prominently signifies a clickable text button. The phrase "increase limits" has been replaced with "Want to expand your limits?" to enhance the overall user experience and provide a distinct call to action.

Minimal navigation & freedom in response

By utilizing just a text box, users experience a sense of freedom in their responses. Additionally, a confirmation page has been implemented to inform users about the processing of their requests. This page also provides an estimate of the review duration for each request.

Mobile app version

Web desktop version

Learnings and Takeaways

This project was successfully completed in May 2022, with pending copy approval from the legal team. Overall, there was a lot I learned about collaboration and time management from this project. I was challenged to think outside the box, use my creativity effectively, and improve my leadership skill as the lead designer.

Reflecting on project outcomes

Challenges we ran into

ℹ

At the outset, a pivotal hurdle was determining the optimal amount of information to include within the form—balancing necessity with user-friendliness.

Working with constraints.

✎

Balancing a design that blends seamlessly with the platform's aesthetics, while deciding between card-based and whole-page approaches.

Aesthetics vs Functionality.

How I grew as a designer

⌛︎

My time management skills were improved in the whirlwind of this project, where the timeline was short and the pace, relentless.

Time Management.

☎︎

Improved communication and collaboration skills while working with engineers and project managers

Cross-functional Collaboration.

Latest Work